Honokaa Catholic Properties – Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church
Address 45-5028 Plumeria Street, Honokaa, Hawaii 96727 TMK (3) 4-5-018:011, (3) 4-5-007:005 SHPD Historic Site Number Not Yet Available Historic Designations: Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places Abstract The Honokaʻa Catholic Properties include: Our Lady of Lourdes Sanctuary (1926); Our Lady of Lourdes Meeting Hall (1956); Rectory; Educational Building and the Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Georges cemeteries. It is significant as a small-town religious institution, centerpiece for religious and social activities, and catalyst for ethnic mixing in church and town. The church’s blended congregation was comprised of Europeans, Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, Filipinos, and Native Hawaiians members. This diversity of cultures paved the way for the ethnic mixing in church that fostered similar cultural exchange with the small shops in town prevalent throughout the plantation era. The Honokaʻa Catholic Properties is also significant for its design with an eclectic melding of Plantation Vernacular style and Late 19th and 20th century late Gothic Revival style. Elements include single wall construction, a totan (corrugated iron) roof, Gothic windows and a peaceful, restful, spiritually centering atmosphere. The Meeting Hall building is a good example of early Plantation-Era design and construction that includes associated features such as post and pier and concrete pad foundation, tongue and groove single-board walls, wood panel doors, exposed rafter tails, and totan roof.