Unlike the modern day setting of Ka’anapali, Lahaina is a charming seaside town with a   rich and colorful past.  Join us as we “Talk Story” with some of Lahaina’s kama’aina and learn more about this salty seaport’s rich history.

LAHAINA’S HISTORICAL LANDMARKS MAKE UP A RICH A VIBRANT STORY ALL WITHIN A FEW BLOCKS OF FRONT STREET. BUT THERE IS ONE LANDMARK THAT CAN BE SEEN AS FAR AWAY AS MOLOKAI. WE ALL KNOW IT BY ITS SIMPLE YET PROFOUND NAME, THE “L”.


OH THE “L”, IT’S ONE OF OUR MOST CONSPICUOUS TREASURES AND TRADITIONS FOR LAHAINALUNA. THE “L” STARTED IN 1929 BY A GROUP OF BOARDERS WHO BEING HARD WORKING AS THEY ARE AFTER WORK ONE SATURDAY LOOKED UP AT MOUNT BALL WHICH WE CALLED MOUNT BALL ITS ACTUALLY PUU PA’U PA’U AND THEY THOUGHT WELL YOU KNOW WHAT LET’S GO DO SOMETHING. SO THEY WENT UP TO THE… CLIMBED UP THE MOUNTAIN AND THEY DECIDED TO ETCH A “L”, IT’S SMALLER THAN THE ONE YOU SEE TODAY AND UM THEY CAME BACK DOWN LOOKED UP AND WENT THE BUGGERS CROOKED SO THEY WENT BACK UP THE NEXT SUNDAY AND THEY STRAIGHTENED IT OUT AND OVER THE YEARS THEY MADE IT A LITTLE LARGER.

THE “L” IS NOW LIMED TWICE A YEAR; ONCE IN THE FALL AND THEN AGAIN AT GRADUATION IN THE SPRING.  AND IN THE SPRING THEY CELEBRATE GRADUATION BY ILLUMINATING THE “L”!


02:23:08 WELL OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR CEREMONY ON A SUNDAY THAT SUNDAY EVENING AND AT THE END OF THE CEREMONY THERE’S A CEREMONY THAT INVOLVES THE STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT, THE CLASS PRESIDENT AND THE BOARDERS PRESIDENT A TOR, A CEREMONIAL TORCH LIGHTING. THAT’S THE SIGNAL THAT’S GIVEN TO THE ALUMNI UP AT THE “L” TO LIGHT THE “L”. BY THEN ITS DARK AND YOU SEE THESE PEOP…, YOU DON’T SEE THE PEOPLE BUT YOU SEE THESE SCATTERED TORCHES AROUND THE “L” LIGHT UP AND ALL AROUND THE “L” IT STARTS TO LIGHT UP. IT IS A CHICKEN SKIN MOMENT!


One of the historical landmarks you’ll find in the guide is the Hale Pa’ahao, literally translated as “stuck-in-irons-house”, this prison can be found about a block inland from the Banyan Tree. The Hale Pa’ahao, built in the 1850’s using coral and stone from Lahaina’s demolished waterfront fort, served as Lahaina’s only jail.

Disorderly whalers were the most frequent prisoners, often held for offences including dangerous horseback riding, deserting a ship, or drunkenness.  

Today Hale Pa’ahao is open to the public as a museum, and is available for private events.

Just around the corner from the Prison  you’ll find the Baldwin House built in 1835 by Reverend Dwight Baldwin, a Harvard-educated physician and missionary. Reverend Baldwin’s time in Lahaina was constructive and influential. He is credited with saving Maui from the 1853 smallpox epidemic by increasing vaccinations and detaining all cargo from neighboring islands.


Executive Director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation, Keoki Freeland, emphasizes the importance of Reverend Baldwin’s contributions to Lahaina’s community.
He was a very famous man for what he was able to do. He actually saved Lahaina from the scourge of smallpox a in Honolulu where people were dying like flies due to that disease, he quarantined Lahaina and saved a great many people.

A few blocks from the Baldwin House you’ll find the Wo Hing Temple. Built in 1912 by the Wo Hing Society, a branch of the Chee Kung Tong, a worldwide fraternal society. The Wo Hing Temple served the local Chinese community as a social meeting hall and a place for religious services. 


By 1940, with the decline of the Chinese population on Maui, the building had fallen into disrepair. In 1983 the Lahaina Restoration Foundation and the Wo Hing Society completely renovated the building and restored its colorful beauty.

Today, the Wo Hing Temple is a thriving museum filled with artifacts and memorabilia documenting the lifestyles of the Chinese community and its contributions to Lahaina Towne.

Stay tuned for more of Lahaina’s historical sites coming up later in the program.