Hawaii’s Back Yard Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

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Hanapepe takes a walk on the historic side

Were it not for the sign "Biggest Little Town on Kauai" on Kaumualii Highway, marking where you should turn, you could easily miss Hanapepe. Until recently the sleepy enclave on the island's west side hasn't done much to call attention to itself.

Happenings in historic Hanapepe Hanapepe is 17 miles west of Lihue, off Kaumualii Highway (Route 50). Look for the "Biggest Little Town on Kauai" sign on your right; veer off and you'll be on Hanapepe Road at the east entrance to town. Historic Hanapepe Walking Tour maps are available for $2 at most shops in town, including Banana Patch Studio, Talk Story Bookstore, Dawn Traina Gallery and Arius Hopman Gallery. If you present a Historic Hanapepe Walking Tour rack card (available at Lihue Airport), you can get a map for free. In addition, art lovers will want to check out Hanapepe's Friday Art Night, which is held 6 to 9 p.m. weekly. Sixteen galleries participate, offering pupus, demonstrations and special exhibits. Artists are available to discuss their work, techniques and inspirations, and most nights, a strolling musician adds to the ambience. For more information about the walking tour or art night, call 808-335-5944, e-mail info@bananapatchstudio.com or visit the Web site www.kauai.net/hanapepe.

Last month, however, it hosted a festive grand opening for its 1.5-mile self-guided walking tour, encompassing 69 key sites.

Forty-three of them meet the criteria to be listed on the state and national registers of historic places, including being at least 50 years old, having a tie with significant historical events or people and possessing high artistic values or displaying the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction.

With $80,000 in funding and in-kind donations provided by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the County of Kauai's Office of Economic Development and the Hanapepe Economic Alliance, the community pulled together to research the sites' history, develop 14 interpretive plaques and design a full-color, fold-out Historic Hanapepe Walking Tour map that doubles as a souvenir (see sidebar at left).

HANAPEPE RESTS at the foot of lush Hanapepe Valley. Its name means "crushed bay," perhaps due to frequent landslides that left piles of rocks beside nearby Hanapepe Bay. Hawaiians inhabited the fertile valley centuries before British Capt. James Cook arrived in 1778, farming crops of banana, sugar cane, sweet potato and taro.

New England missionaries introduced Christianity to Hawaii in the 1820s, and by the turn of the last century, there were nearly a dozen churches of different denominations in Hanapepe.

Kauai's sugar industry also was flourishing, attracting thousands of workers from China, Japan, Korea and other faraway lands. Unlike most of the island's towns, which were built and owned by the plantations, Hanapepe was established by entrepreneurial Asian immigrants who had fulfilled their plantation contracts and settled there to become taro or rice farmers or to start mom-and-pop businesses.

These industrious immigrants were the architects of the buildings that have given Hanapepe its unique sense of place. By the early 1900s, the area was primarily populated by their descendants and had grown to become the center of commerce and entertainment on Kauai, with more than 60 stores, two movie theaters, two roller-skating rinks, the island's first airstrip and Port Allen, a harbor second only to Nawiliwili in size. Schools, clinics, pool halls, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, hotels and homes also sprang up.

In the late 1930s, the business and residential hub of Kauai shifted to Lihue, and the pulse of Hanapepe slowed. Since then it has retained its quaint, sleepy character, save for occasional visits by Hollywood filmmakers who've been charmed by its historic ambience.

Hanapepe appeared as the Filipino city of Olongapo in "Flight of the Intruder" and was the hometown of the heroine Lilo in Disney's animated hit, "Lilo and Stitch." The Serikawa Building (circa 1921) starred as a hotel in Queenland, Australia, in the television miniseries "The Thorn Birds"; it originally was a five-room hostelry where guests paid $3 per night for lodging, meals and a shared bath prepared with water heated over an open fire.

DEPENDING ON your length of stay and level of interest, you could complete the Hanapepe Walking Tour in an hour or spend an entire day in town, learning all of its fascinating tales.

For example, the building that now houses Giorgio's Fine Art Gallery (circa 1931) was known as the K.C. Kai Store nearly 75 years ago. One of the largest stores in Hanapepe at the time, it offered a wide array of stylish merchandise in its spacious, undivided interior. During World War II it was transformed into a USO Club for military personnel stationed nearby, complete with a record player, movies and stage shows.

The Storybook Theatre (circa 1932) was once Sun Ki Heong Chinese Restaurant, where customers enjoyed banquets and taxi dancing, a practice in which a gentleman bought a ticket to dance with the woman of his choice. On both the state and national registers of historic places, it is now a TV studio and theater focusing on children's activities. Its nickname, "Sparky's Place," refers to the late Masayuki "Spark" Matsunaga, the former U.S. senator from Hawaii who was born and raised in Hanapepe.

In an inspiring story of historic preservation, artist Joanna Carolan purchased and restored the Old Hanapepe Pool Hall (circa 1926), which also claims coveted spots on the state and national registers of historic places. It took her four years, from 1999 to 2003, to complete the work on the 3,200-square-foot structure, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Iniki in 1992.

The building first served as a family-run bakery and tailor shop. Today, it provides a cheery home for Carolan's Banana Patch Studio, an art gallery and working ceramic studio.

"Hanapepe is gaining the reputation of being the art capital of Kauai," she says. "Many of the old buildings in town are galleries that are owned and operated by artists. In fact, Hanapepe has more fine-art galleries than any other town on Kauai. Our Friday Art Night (see sidebar) started nine years ago and draws about 300 people every week."

In addition to a fine selection of art, visitors to Banana Patch Studio can view a minimuseum of historic photos and oral histories housed in a separate room. Carolan's renovation of the old pool hall and interest in Hanapepe's history provided the impetus for the walking tour.

As the treasurer of the nonprofit Hanapepe Economic Alliance, she saw the potential of developing a project that created an activity for visitors while preserving and perpetuating the town's history. The alliance had been formed in 1992 with that very mission: to spur the economic revitalization of Hanapepe through beautification projects, special events, increased visitor awareness and the restoration of historic sites.

HEA brought Carol Bain of Kauai Worldwide Communications on board as the grant writer and coordinator for the walking-tour project. Many Hanapepe residents, building owners and businesses contributed money, old photos, research time, administrative support, and marketing and artistic expertise to bring the tour to fruition.

The results have been remarkable.

"The walking tour has rejuvenated Hanapepe on every level," Carolan said. "It has encouraged owners to spruce up their buildings, strengthened community bonds and generated a sense of pride among residents as visitors come to see and learn about our wonderful historical treasures."