Historic Hulihe Palace on Big Island 'red-tagged'

By Dan Nakaso

Advertiser Staff Writer

Civil Defense officials "reg-tagged" historic Hulihe'e Palace in Kailua, Kona this morning making it uninhabitable.

"People cannot go in right now but it can be rebuilt," said David Scott, executive director of the Daughters of Hawai'i, which runs Hulihe'e Palace. "We are committed to restoring Hulihe'e Palace."

He estimated the cost of repairs at $1 million.

Scott hopes that a structural engineer deems the palace structurally sound in the next few days so visitors can at least enter the hallway to view the bottom floor rooms that were damaged.
The entire exterior of the lava stone building also needs to be replastered, Scott said.
The palace has been off limits to visitors since Sunday's earthquakes. It relies on the 300 to 500 visitors it gets each day for funding and had already raised $200,000 for renovations before Sunday's earthquakes damaged each of the palace's six rooms and destabilized gables inside the attic, which threatened to crash into the upstairs Kawananakoa Room.
The gables, located near the peak of the roof in the attic, were "precarious and out of plumb by 6 inches," Scott said.

The building's truss roof structure, which was built during the palace's 1927 renovation, is sound, Scott said.

The least damaged areas are the center hallways of both the downstairs and upstairs, Scott said.
But the six rooms of the palace have "significant damage," primarily from damaged plaster, he said. Falling plaster and moulding damaged a handful of historic artifacts, including Queen Kapiolani's writing desk.

Hulihe'e Palace is listed on both the state and national historic registry and images of the earthquake damage were broadcast around the world.

"We got national recognition and have gotten calls from all over the country," Scott said. "We hope it will enhance fund-raising opportunities."

Queen Emma Summer Palace on O'ahu, which is also run by the Daughters of Hawai'i, had no damage, Scott said.

A small picture of Prince Albert fell over in a glass case but "even the kahili didn't tip over," Scott said.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.