Address
556 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, Hawaii 96720

TMK
(3) 2-3-015:001 (portion)

SHPD Historic Site Number
10-35-7522

Abstract
Hilo High School sits along the Waikapu River on a sloping lot.  Many newer buildings have been added to the Hilo High School campus, but the two main buildings, built in the 1920s, dominate the campus as outstanding examples of the Classical revival style in education buildings on the island Hawaii. These two buildings face an open courtyard and are symmetric and formal in appearance. The Makai Building, built in 1922, is a three story rectangular building with stairwells and classrooms punctuating each end making the footprint of the building resemble an elongated “I”. The Auditorium, built in 1928, is a reinforced concrete building that features an entrance portico and a T-shaped plan. Hilo High School, the first public high school on the island of Hawaii, is significant not only for its associations with the development of education in Hawaii County but as one of the best examples of the work of Frank F. Arakawa, an alumnus of Hilo High School.

This list of Hawaii’s historic properties is provided as a public service by Historic Hawaii Foundation. It is not the official list of properties designated on the Hawaii State Register of Historic Places. For official designations and determinations of eligibility, contact the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii at 808-692-8015.