Historic Properties

Address Kahaluu-Keauhou, Hawaii 2008 Preservation Honor Awards Kamehameha Investment Corporation for restoration of sacred sites of Keauhou including Hapaiali‘i and Ke‘eku heiau Keauhou, in the ahupua‘a of Kahalu‘u on the island of Hawai‘i, holds some of Hawaii's most culturally significant ancient sites and historic event locations that forever changed Hawaii's history. Most of these sites are obscured by earlier development and ravaged over time by nature, including earthquakes, tidal waves and high surf. Because Hawaii's commitment to its cultural past has often been overshadowed by community development goals, landowners often wrestle to find a balance between cultural responsibility and economic need. This pattern of community mistrust posed a problem for Keauhou in early community relationship building as the conversation about restoring Hawaiian cultural sites within the resort began. Kamehameha Investment embarked on a monumental restoration campaign to reconstruct the venerable Hapaiali‘i and Ke‘eku heiau and to complete research on nearby Kapuanoni heiau. As they planned the restoration of the first site, it became clear that cultural protocol and unique environmental elements would be the center of the project and that deep community involvement would be key. The cultural team was tasked with teaching those involved—including native Hawaiians, local residents and local area high school students—the daily rituals that connected this modern day restoration team to cultural practices. As a first step in the restoration, students from Kealakehe High School and Ke Kula 0 Ehunuikaimalino, a native Hawaiian Charter School, worked alongside cultural and archaeological specialists to research and compose plane table maps of Kapuanoni heiau. This created an opportunity to engage these students in Hawaiian culture and archaeology. Through this program, students had the opportunity to be a part of the [...]

Address 78-7010 Mamalahoa Highway, Holualoa, Hawaii 96725 Abstract The Keauhou Store, originally the Sasaki Store, was first opened in 1919 by Yoshisuke Sasaki and his family. Sasaki was a skilled carpenter who built the archway to the Tong Wo Tong Cemetery and helped build the Daifukuji Soto Mission. The Keauhou Store thrived until improved roads, such as the 1967 extension of Kuakini Highway, diverted traffic away from Mamalahoa Highway, hurting local businesses such as the Keauhou Store. 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.

Address Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 What is it? This complex features at least 29 known archaeological sites over more than 16 acres, including heiau, platform foundations and, most impressively, the remaining 10-foot high walls of chiefess Keakealaniwahine's home, dating back to about 1650. Only two women are known to have ever ruled the Big Island, Keakealaniwahine and her mother, Keakamahana. It was quite a family: Keakealaniwahine was also the great-great-grandmother of Kamehameha I. What threatens it? First Hawaiian Creditcorp acquired the complex though a foreclosure and donated it to the state in 1998. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has reported that the complex suffers from natural and manmade deterioration and lacks comprehensive monitoring, restoration or interpretation. The site is also threatened by surrounding development. To date, none of these threats have been countered. What can be done? Some of this is about to change, says Martha Yent, state parks interpretive program supervisor. Keakealaniwahine and the nearby Keolonahihi State Historical Park have since been placed on the Hawai'i Register of Historic Places as the Holualoa Archaeological District. DLNR recently received $1.2 million in state and federal money to purchase a piece of private property between Keakealaniwahine and Ali'i Drive. "A lot of the Hawaiian community have asked us to minimize traffic through the site and using this neighboring property for interpretation is one way to do that," says Yent. Next, the division of state parks would resurrect dormant plans to combine Keakealaniwahine and Keolonahihi into a single park, updating its master plan and environmental impact statements. "But we have no money to do that now," says Yent. Meanwhile, the state is working with a Hawaiian community group to [...]

Kuawa Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Address Kuawa Street, Hilo, Hawaii 96720 What is it? Once the heart of Hilo's rail system, where engines were serviced, this roundhouse was actually a casualty of the April 1, 1946, tsunami that devastated Hilo. The wave didn't physically touch the eight-bay, concrete roundhouse originally built in 1921, but it destroyed nearby railroad tracks and bridges. A group of Big Island sugar plantations had run the trains as the Hawaii Consolidated Railroad. They decided to close the crippled railroad rather than repair it. Tsunami or no, closure was likely inevitable as plantations throughout the Islands moved to trucking, closing their rail lines around the late 1940s. Little else of Hilo's railroad history remains in the town. What threatens it? The roundhouse has been used for storage for decades by various construction [Text Missing] Inc., which has used it since 1972 and owned it for the past 15 years. It has fallen into disrepair. What can be done? The roundhouse has its fans, but as yet, none with a specific plan for adopting and preserving the structure. Wayne Subica, owner of the Hilo museum Memories of Hawaii, would like to buy the roundhouse and use it for a museum of plantation history. "it's not in perfect condition, but its restorable, " he says. "It would be neat, I've got some railroad memorabilia and other people have a lot more. If that history isn't preserved, it will be lost. Bryson Saiki, President of Constructors Hawaii says, "We're open to suggestions. If an offer came in, we'd seriously consider it. To be honest, it's deteriorating and at some point it may become necessary to tear it down [...]

Address 54-3903 Akoni Pule Highway, Kapaau, Hawaii 96755 Abstract The Bond Memorial Library, built in 1834, is named for Dr. Benjamin D. Bond. In January 2009, it marked 80 years of continuous service to the town of Kapaau. In 1927, Caroline Bond deeded the land and $10,000 to the Territory of Hawaii to build a public library for Kapaau, then a thriving sugar town. In 1939, Senate Resolution 25 from the Hawaii Territorial Legislature named the library the "Benjamin D. Bond Library" in honor of a much-loved local philanthropist. The Bond Family funded a trust in 1936 that still pays for new books and materials for the library to this day. Sadly, the Bond Memorial Library will be replaced by a new $7 million building being built nearby on land donated by Surety Kohala Corporation.  The Bond Memorial Library Building and its land will revert to the Bond Estate's current owners, the New Moon Foundation. 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.