Governor Green releases $200,000 for East Hawaii Cultural Center restoration

Governor Josh Green has released $200,000 in bond funds for the East Hawaii Cultural Center, giving Hilo’s historic arts hub a new push at a building that has already survived nearly a century of use, reinvention and piecemeal repairs. The money will support planning and construction for restoration work at 141 Kalākaua St., where the center sits across from Kalākaua Park in Downtown Hilo.

The funding matters because it does not just touch a building. It reaches a place that EHCC says has served the arts and culture community in Hilo for more than 50 years, offering exhibits, performances, classes and workshops, along with free admission and a suggested $5 donation. Senator Lorraine Inouye announced the release and framed it as a state investment in community and cultural spaces that serve East Hawaii.

The building itself carries the layered history that makes preservation urgent. Constructed in 1932 and designed by Hilo-born architect and engineer Frank Arakawa, the structure once housed the district court and police department before becoming the cultural center’s home. The district court moved out in 1969, the police department left in 1975, and EHCC has leased the County of Hawaii-owned property since 1980, taking responsibility for its rehabilitation. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

What the $200,000 will fix is the next stage of a long restoration campaign. What it will not fix by itself is the full weight of an aging landmark that has needed ongoing attention for years. EHCC previously received a $23,000 Historic Hawaii Foundation grant in 2020 for bee and termite control, interim roof repairs and new signage, with matching support from the Serendipity II Fund and community members. By 2021, restoration work had expanded to termite treatment, parking lot repaving, a modular mobile theatre and a safety fence.

That history shows why the new money is important but incomplete. It helps move the project from early planning toward construction, yet the center still depends on additional support to protect the roof, address structural wear and keep the site safe and functional for public programming. In a county where budgets often bend toward roads and emergencies, the release signals that Hilo’s cultural infrastructure is being treated as part of the island’s civic foundation, not an afterthought.