Kalahikiola Church after restoration.

Kalahikiola Congregational Church

Kalahikiola Church was built by missionary Elias Bond and his parishioners in 1855 near the Bond Homestead in Kohala on the island of Hawaii. Replacing earlier thatched and wooden structures, the 1855 church was built of timber found on nearby Kalahikiola hillside -- Ka la hiki ola means "the day salvation comes" -- and its three-foot-thick walls were made of round field stones of various sizes set in a soft lime mortar.

On October 15, 2005, the church was damaged by a 6.7-magnitude earthquake, which occurred 13 miles north of Kailua-Kona at 7:07 A.M and was followed by a 6.0 aftershock at 7:14 A.M and smaller ones during the day.

The tall rock masonry walls, lacking reinforcement, suffered extensive damage, collapsing completely at the makai end of the building. The roof and ceiling framing, supported by interior center posts, remained intact, though if more of the walls failed, there was danger that the roof structure could collapse as well if exposed to strong lateral seismic forces.

Balancing historic preservation concerns with the future safety of the building's occupants, Mason Architects and the congregation decided to remove the stone walls and replace them with concrete masonry, which was then plastered and scored with mortar lines to resemble the church's original exterior. Windows and doors, woodwork and hardware were carefully preserved and reinstalled in the new walls; every bit of the original church that could be salvaged was reused; missing parts were replaced with the closest match.

The church retains its historical appearance but is gladdeningly safe for its parishioners.

Photos: MAI