Morrison

LAHAINA – Lahaina Restoration Foundation (LRF) announced the opening of the newly restored Agawa Home with an open house reception set for Saturday, Jan. 25.

From 1 to 4 p.m., the public is invited to stop in for viewing and reminiscing at the 94-year-old house at 255 Prison St. in Lahaina. The property is situated next to Honoapiilani Highway.

Plantation era furnishings will be placed in the living room and kitchen, an old radio show will be playing, and plenty of food will be served. Parking will be available on the lawn in the Old Prison yard (Hale Pa’ahao) at 187 Prison St.

LRF has been renovating the home in the past year and has installed new landscaping. The property was generously turned over to the organization by surviving members of the Agawa family – Ernest Kosaka, Jane Agawa and Sue Arakawa – after they learned that no one wanted to live there.

Under the terms of the long-term lease, LRF paid for the renovations and will then rent the home to a family to recover the costs. After that, the site will turn into an education center and plantation life museum.

The architectural style of the restored home is typical of Lahaina’s plantation era.

Arakawa, who lived on the property in the 1970s, said, “I’m so happy to see it this nice again. It’s how my uncle and grandfather kept it. The family is really happy about turning it into a museum.”

The home was built in 1920. Arakawa’s grandfather, Tasuke Agawa, purchased it in 1945, and it has been in the family ever since. The architectural style is typical of Lahaina’s plantation era.

“These old houses deserve restoration,” said LRF Executive Director Theo Morrison. “It’s important to keep the integrity of Lahaina’s neighborhoods intact just as much as it is for commercial buildings in the historic districts.”

For more information on the open house reception, call the LRF office at 661-3262 or e-mail Theo@LahainaRestoration.org.