#Kauai

UPDATE: 2018 – Reconstruction Underway The Kapaia Foundation’s March Newsletter shared an inspiring update on the status of Kapaia Swinging Bridge’s reconstruction! "HD Construction, with the guidance of architect Ron Agor, has been busy working on rebuilding the Kapaia Swinging Bridge since last September. Contractor Harry Duronslet and his team are following the 1948 plan, using as much of the existing material as possible. The finished structure will look like the original but will last longer because it is being built stronger. If all goes as planned, the bridge rebuild project should be completed before May 2018." UPDATE: 2017 – SAVED After more than a decade of neglect, Kapaia Swinging Bridge is on its way to being restored. In March of 2017, Kaua’i County transferred appropriated funds and ownership of the bridge to Kapaia Foundation. Kapaia Foundation, formed in 2006 to seek protection of the bridge, was awarded a $231,000 grant to cover supplies and equipment to restore the bridge.  Kapaia Foundation is galvanizing the community for the additional support and services needed.   Photos: courtesy of Kicka Witte; Kapaia Foundation “Maintenance neglect and resistance from county leaders created the dilemma we have struggled with for the past five years.” – Laraine Moriguchi UPDATE: 2012 – CONTINUED THREAT Article Written By: Kathryn Drury Wagner In last year’s “Most Endangered Places,” we covered the Kapaia Swinging Bridge, a wooden suspension bridge constructed in 1948. A vestige of the plantation culture in the Islands, in 2006, It was deemed unsafe and closed by the county. Things had been looking up: the county was planning to restore the bridge’s two towers, and a community group, Save Kapaia Swinging Bridge, was raising the funds for the rest of the renovation. [...]

Photos: Courtesy of David Cornwell UPDATE: 2012 Hui o Laka renovated the historic and formerly abandoned Civilian Conservation Corps Complex (CCC Complex), both buildings and grounds, into a fully functioning volunteer service facility, in keeping with the original use in 1938. Constructed in 1935, as part of President Roosevelt’s national program “to provide work and job training for young men in conserving and developing the nation’s natural resources,” the  CCC Complex site accommodated many groups and programs over the years. This renovation is critical to protect and preserve a  complex of buildings that once served a national purpose, and stands as a landmark for the commitment of generations of people who have volunteered and dedicated themselves to community service in order to nurture Kōke‘e's native forest, and to educate visitor and kama‘āina alike. Hui o Laka received a Preservation Honor Award at Historic Hawai‘i Foundation’s 2012 Preservation Honor Awards Ceremony for the restoration of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Complex. UPDATE: SAVED IN 2011 According to Holly McEldowney of State Parks, auctions for leases on the last sixteen residences have been completed. Approval has been given for Mason Architects, Inc. to finish historic preservation design standards for the site. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2006 Article Written By: Michael Keany, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? Ahh, Koke‘e, an idyllic 4,345 acres of mountainous Kaua‘i state park. It’s also home to 114 secluded recreational cabins—92 of them more than 50 years old—which have been caught in the middle of a preservation battle. The 20-year leases on the rustic cabins are set to expire at the end of this year, and the state plans to put them up for open auction, sparking heated protests from the current lessees, who [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Sue Boynton UPDATE: DEMOLISHED IN 2012 In 2012 the Kakaha Sugar Mill was demolished. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2007 Article Written By: Michael Keany, HONOLULU Magazine What was it? Kekaha Town literally grew up around this mill. From the founding of Kekaha Sugar Co. in 1898 until the end of sugar operations in 2000, the mill provided the area its main economic driver, not to mention one of its most prominent landmarks: the smokestack that still towers above the town. It may not look it today, but the Kekaha Sugar Mill is actually the most modern sugar facility in Hawai‘i—it was built in 1954 as an upgrade to older, smaller mills before it. What threatened it? In a general sense, the wane of the sugar era on Kaua‘i means that plantation towns such as Kekaha and Lıhu‘e are faced with reinventing themselves. The mills that defined these towns may fall victim to the search for new commercial activity. Specifically, Pahio Development Inc., the company that bought the Kehaha Mill property earlier this year, and which also owns Lıhu‘e Mill, may be looking into replacing the structure with a new development, although president and CEO Lynn McCrory won’t say exactly what kind. “We’re still looking at the options for the site,” she says. “We’d like to take a bit more time looking at those possibilities and moving forward on them.” What could have been done? Jose Bulatao, vice-chair of the Kaua‘i West Side Watershed Council and a lifelong resident of Kekaha, says he wants Pahio Development to involve the Kekaha community in the discussion over what to do with the mill property. He acknowledges that it may be a costly endeavor to adapt [...]

  UPDATE: SAVED IN 2010 Restoration of the building was completed in 2010. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2007 Article Written By: Michael Keany, HONOLULU Magazine What is it? Built in 1909 by Rev. Jissei Muroyama, the Koloa Jodo Mission was one of Kaua‘i’s first Japanese temples, erected by immigrants who settled in the area. The mission built a larger temple to replace the aging structure in the 1980s, and it has since been used as a columbarium (a place for urns). Lorraine Minatoishi-Palumbo, an architect with expertise in Hawai‘i’s traditional Japanese architecture, calls the temple a fine example of early period Japanese temples built in the Islands, and says it’s one of only a handful still standing. What threatens it? The temple is beginning to feel its age, particularly in the past two years. The mission’s minister, Rev. Ishikawa, says, “We still use the building as a columbarium, but the ceiling is falling down and there’s also termite damage. I feel it’s become dangerous to use.” According to Minatoishi-Palumbo, the situation is a result of changing times. “What has been traditional in the upkeep of these temples is that the congregations would maintain them,” she says. “A lot of the Japanese men were carpenters, but everyone has gotten older.” At this point, many in the congregation are pushing to simply demolish the temple. Ishikawa says he’d like to save it, although he’s not sure what repairs would cost. What can be done? Minatoishi-Palumbo plans to submit the Koloa Jodo Mission to the state and national historic registers, which, if approved, will make it easier to apply for bricks and mortar grants. Another interesting prospect: A former minister of the temple, Rev. Kodo Tanaka, visited the [...]

Photos: Courtesy of Sue Boynton UPDATE: DEMOLISHED IN 2010 The Wainiha Stream Bridges were demolished as a result of structural failure from overloaded vehicles exceeding the bridge weight limit. LISTED AS ENDANGERED IN 2007 Article Written By: Michael Keany, HONOLULU Magazine What were they? A group of single-lane wooden timber bridges crossing the Wainiha Stream near Hanalei on Route 560. Since their construction in 1957, the low-profile, white-painted bridges have become an integral element of the rural character of the district, which is listed on both the Hawai‘i and National Register of Historic Places. What threatened them? The bridges are indisputably in terrible shape. State Department of Transportation inspectors have found heavy corrosion on the steel girders as well as rotting of some of the timbers. In fact, one of the bridges has already been replaced with a utilitarian-looking prefabricated modular steel bridge. DOT spokesperson Scott Ishikawa says the remaining two bridges are slated for demolition in mid-2009. “Temporary single-lane Acrow bridges will be installed, which will provide us some time to come up with a permanent bridge design that is safe and something the community is happy with,” he says. What could have been done? The problem is that the community is happy with the existing bridges. Susan Tasaki from the State Historic Preservation Division, as well as local community groups such as the Hanalei Road Committee, are pushing to repair and reinforce the structures instead of tearing them down. “These bridges should be repaired, replacing the existing materials in kind,” says Tasaki. “They’re not supposed to replace it with concrete. Nothing in the guidelines allows that.” Tasaki says the situation in Hanalei is indicative of a larger problem throughout Hawai‘i. Over the next [...]