Kalaupapa Building Priorities

With limited funds and hundreds of historic structures attacked by termites, age, mildew and rot--Henry Law and Bryan Harry developed a 'priority list' to husband moneys for stabilization repairs. Review the development of those priorities.

Reflect after a quarter century experience maintaining park historic structures following the priority plan.

Two maps are included in the jackets-one map of the entire peninsula, and one map of the Settlement with district division. The maps pinpoint the location of all known standing structures on the peninsula, and identify the buildings by numbers keyed to the inventory sheets.

All of the buildings are numbered for ease in future identification. If a structure has an existing number according to Board of Health maps and records, that number is used. Some of these numbers are duplicated in different areas of the Settlement so location must be specified whenever a structure is identified by number, particularly in a Section 106 proceeding which could lead to demolition of a building. If a structure has no number that can be ascertained from the Board of Health maps and records, a number is assigned, beginning with the number '500.' No duplications in the '500,"600,' and '700' series exist. The majority of structures in this series are of private ownership constructed by the owners with recycled or purchased materials. A small number of the structures in this series are owned by the State of Hawaii or the Federal Government.

Building dates are based on maps provided by the State of Hawaii on the Annual Report of the Superintendent, Board of Leper Hospitals and Settlement of the Territory of Hawaii for several fascal years, or in most cases on the list drawn up by the building maintenance division at Kalaupapa Settlement. These dates should not be considered conclusive. Further historical research is necessary to accurately date every structure of historical and architectural significance, particularly if a Section 106 proceeding is pending.

"Significance" refers to "architectural significance" although known historical significance normally is included in the statement. In many cases, significance is listed as "one of many." Care should be exercised in demolition of structures in these categories, so that representative groups of buildings will be preserved. Statements are very brief due to the very short time limit. Broader significance is explained in the Architectural Evaluation: Kalaupapa.

The cost estimates include a general "maintenance cost" to stabilize the structure and bring it up to a maintenance standard and a "future maintenance cost" for cyclic maintenance. Cost estimates are presented on all State-owned structures currently in use as well as those of potential historical significance, and on privately owned structures of known historical significance. The historically and architecturally significant buildings (individually or in groups depending on the building) will require studies similar to National Park Service "Historic Structure Reports" and "Historic Structure Preservation Guides." However, these studies should be done after an overall "Historic Resources Study" is completed for the entire area. After these studies are completed, greater sums of money can be directed to proper preservation and, hopefully, adaptive use of the significant building. Insignificant buildings can be removed as they outlive their useful lives. Estimates for the "Historic Structure Preservation Guides" are not included in this report. Cost figures are available from the Historic Preservation Division, National Park Service, Denver Service Center.

Maintenance cost figures or stabilization estimates are based on Oahu costs-the cost of contract work for a project item in Honolulu. Due to the frequency of items such as fumigation and roofing, the costs may vary depending on the size of the contract. The greater the amount of work done at one time, the lesser the cost. Another determining factor, however, is the isolation of the project at Kalaupapa. The costs listed in this report could be increased from 50 percent to 150 percent. Housing workers and transporting materials are major problems which would increase the overall cost. Another variable to be considered is the amount of work that should be allowed at one time without seriously disrupting the lives of the patients. This should be decided by the patients and the administrating agency, but it remains an unknown variable in coming to a fixed figure.

The amount of work needed was determined during 15 days of on-site investigation of more than 200 buildings. The interiors of most structures were not viewed. Many of the items specified on the cost estimate sheets are educated guesses on the exact amount of damage to be repaired. Therefore contingency funds are listed continually. The contingencies are closer to being under-estimates than over-estimates.

Cost estimate sheets are located in the Kalaupapa Building Folders deposited
in the Hawaii State Office of the National Park Service, Honolulu. The Building Folders also include the original work sheets written in the field, photographs of building details and damage, and other pertinent data.

All cost estimates are by H.G. Law. All photographs, description and preliminary research are by-L.E.S. Many thanks to Martha Shibata for typing and assembly. Mahalo to the wonderful people of Kalaupapa for their kindness, help, and hospitiality.

The Building Inventory is divided into nine districts as follows: 1) McVeigh Home; 2) Bishop Home-Bay View Home and Vicinity; 3) Damien Road, South Side; 4) Main Residential Area; 5) Staff Row; 6) Administrative/Industrial Area; 7) Construction Camp-Paschoal Hall and Vicinity; 8) Kamehameha Street to Mormon Church and Vicinity; 9) Other Peninsula Areas. In most cases, the districts have separate functions such as patient housing, staff housing or industrial uses-which are the result of logical village development to some extent. The industrial area, for example, is built up around the landing dock where the supplies are brought in; the majority of residences are located away from the ocean where the day-to-day weather is less severe. The residential section is divided into "Main Residential Area" and "Damien Road, South Side" because of its enormous size and the number of structures involved. The districts are further divided according to ownership-State of Hawaii or Private.