Historic town blending cultural landmarks, local eateries, art galleries, and lush valley landscapes into a vibrant community experience.

How to Get There

From Kahului, HI (2 mi): Drive west on Kaʻahumanu Avenue (HI-32) for about 10 minutes; Wailuku begins just past the bridge over ʻĪao Stream and continues into the historic town center.

Overview

Wailuku is a community in Maui County, Hawaii. Historic sites in the town include Kaʻahumanu Church (named after Queen Kaʻahumanu, wife of Kamehameha I) which dates to 1876, the Wailuku Civic Center Historic District, the site of the Chee Kung Tong Society Building, and the Bailey House, a 19th-century former seminary and home that houses a history museum and the Maui Historical Society.

There are two ancient temples near Wailuku, called heiau — the Halekiʻi Heiau and the Pihanakalani Heiau. Both date back hundreds of years and were used for religious purposes by the native Hawaiians.

Wailuku is served by Kahului Airport.

Geography

Wailuku is located between the communities of Waihee-Waiehu to the north, Kahului to the east, and Waikapu to the south.

The town is situated at 249 feet (76 m) above sea level, at the base of West Maui Volcano, known historically as Mauna Kahalawai and Hale Mahina, on the northern edge of the isthmus of East Maui (Haleakalā) and West Maui.

The three moku or districts of west Maui are Lāhaina, Kāʻanapali, and Wailuku. Wailuku is also known as Pūʻalikomohana, or Nā Wai ʻEhā which means the four waters. The four waters are the ahupuaʻa (smaller land division than district), which are Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiʻehu, and Waiheʻe.

History

Home to Maui's most famous Hawaiian rulers, site of Kamehameha's decisive 1790 victory at the Battle of Kepaniwai in the Iao Valley, location of the 19th century Mission Station and birthplace of the mighty sugar industry, Wailuku illustrates the powerful influences which shaped the town, the island and the state.

The area was a center of power and population in pre-historic Hawaii. In the mid-1800s it was irrevocably changed when New England missionaries brought their religious beliefs, western skills and implements and new agricultural methods. By the 1860s the Wailuku Sugar Company (owned by C. Brewer & Co.) and other plantations were busy growing and milling sugarcane. Miles of ditches were dug, bringing irrigation water from deep in the mountains to the vast fields of central Maui, and the sugar industry flourished, to the detriment of the native people.

Thousands of skilled and unskilled workers immigrated to Maui from all parts of the world to toil in the fields and factories. They came from China, Japan, Okinawa, Korea, the Philippines, Europe, America – bringing ethnic, cultural and religious diversity to their new home. Many settled in Wailuku, where houses, schools, churches, temples, shops, banks and community buildings were built to meet the needs of the thriving company town.

In 1905 Wailuku was designated Maui's County Seat, and it soon became a hub of government, business and entertainment, boasting vaudeville and movie theatres, bowling alley, hotels, poi factory, ice and soda works, and many markets and offices. Thus began the era of growth which continued until the late 1960s when the sugar industry, losing its economic prosperity, reduced operations and the development of alternative commercial centers drew business away from Wailuku's downtown streets.

Many homes and buildings in Wailuku town date from that earlier heyday. They offer a window into the past, providing a glimpse of plantation times. Along High Street, century-old Monkeypod trees and residences reflect the town's prosperity in the 1920s. Many private and public buildings have architectural and historical significance.

On upper Main Street (the road to Iao Valley), are remnants of the missionary era. A tiny graveyard contains tombstones of Hawaiian Ali’i (royalty) and missionary families. Further uphill are the Alexander House and Bailey House, now an excellent museum displaying ancient Hawaiian artifacts and missionary period rooms, and office of the Maui Historical society. A turn on Ilina Street to the top of Vineyard Street brings visitors to a cemetery with views of the Iao Valley and West Maui Mountains.

Visitors can follow Vineyard downhill through a neighborhood clustered around the Iao Congregational Church. As visitors approach the center of town, new buildings mingle with old, and former residences or commercial buildings have been rehabilitated for modern uses, keeping the colorful appearance of the past. In the business district, false fronts and art deco facades stand shoulder to shoulder and sidewalks are shaded by canopies.

Points of interest

• Iao Theater
• Iao Valley
• The Old Wailuku Inn at Ulupono
• Tropical Gardens of Maui
• Wailuku First Friday
• Duke "The Duke" Kahanamoku's (Ambassador of Aloha) Surfboard at The Bailey House Museum