Hana District Police Station and Courthouse - Hana, HI
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 20° 45.388 W 155° 59.137
5Q E 189101 N 2298068
This simple wooden structure was in use from 1871 to 1979 as a courthouse and police station, then was restored and began use as a courthouse in 1991. It is part of the Hana Cultural Center and Museum which opened in 1971.
Waymark Code: WMDYEJ
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 03/09/2012
Views: 1
Just as one enters Hana, after braving the notorious Hana Belt Highway snaking around Maui's eastern coast, the Cultural Center and Museum can be seen on an small knoll on the west side of the highway. Although this historic building is still actively used as a courthouse, it is open to visitors and has many interesting displays and artifacts relating to the history of Hana. There are several other buildings here including a gift shop and visitor center.
From the NRHP Nomination Form:
"The Hana Courthouse is a modest, one-story, single wall frame building with a front-facing corrugated metal gable roof and a pent roofed front porch. It sits on a knoll overlooking the harbor at Hana. It has a rectangular floor plan, which measures 16 x 26. The walls are tongue and groove and the front gable is shingled.
The Hana Courthouse is significant for its associations with the judiciary system in the Hana district and architecturally as an early example of single wall construction in Hawaii.
The courthouse dates from 1871, and the lock-up from 1889. It functioned as the seat of legal authority for the Hana District until 1979. The building has since been restored and in 1991 it reverted back to its original use as a courthouse. As the courthouse and tangible focal point of law and order for this area of Maui, it maintains historical significance within the community.
The building is also architecturally significant as a very early manifestation of single wall construction in Hawaii. This became a popular form of building in the late nineteenth century in Hawaii and has lasted to the present. The form is most commonly associated with plantation worker housing because of its low cost and ease of construction. This is perhaps the earliest example of the form surviving in the state."