Address
506 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo, Hawaii 96720

TMK
(3) 2-3-016:037 (portion)

SHPD Historic Site Number
10-35-7522

Abstract
The main building of the Hilo Union Elementary School is built of reinforced concrete.  It is a two-story symmetrical building which features balconies with balustrades, molded keystone at arches, dentils, and Doric columns accenting the entrance. The oldest wing (1912) is in the center of the two smaller wings extending the original rectangular building into an “I” shape plan with a low pitched hip roof of corrugated metal. The primary building (1928) is simple and rectangular with a corrugated metal latitudinal gable roof, and one side features a large hall/lanai with simple square posts which accesses each of the five classrooms. Hilo Union Elementary School is one of the earliest elementary schools developed in the Hawaii County school system. Hilo Union Elementary School is significant for its association with the development of public education on the island of Hawaii, as an outstanding architectural example by A.J. Williamson, and as an example of the neoclassical style of education building prevalent in early twentieth-century America.

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.