Ewa Community Church

project type

Preservation, Rehabilitation

year completed

2017

In 1937, a church was built in the Ewa Sugar Plantation Village. For over 75 years, worship has continued through wars, statehood, the plantation’s closing, and the encroachment of urban development.

The Ewa Community Church project began with stained glass window repair and grew into a condition assessment to establish interior and exterior maintenance and repair priorities, structural repair requirements, and plans to improve accessibility and campus-wide electrical service.

Once the renovation priorities were established, MASON developed a set of all-inclusive design plans in order to obtain a building permit. We also assisted in the acquisition of a preservation grant from the Freeman Foundation (managed by Historic Hawaii Foundation) while the congregation raised additional funds internally.

With close cooperation among the client, contactor and design team, the Phase I improvement project tackled high priority maintenance and repair tasks while maintaining all aspects of the church’s integrity as a contributing property on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Ewa Sugar Plantation Villages Historic District.

Stained glass windows, before and after repair

Project Details

Restoration of the stained glass windows in the church sanctuary included cleaning and repair/re-leading of the original glass, construction and finishing of new wood frames, and the addition of exterior protective glazing.
Repair and repainting of the wood sanctuary began with lead paint removal using a licensed abatement contractor. Wood repairs were made with custom-milled siding to match the historic profile. The damaged bell tower was repaired and the spire was re-roofed to match the rest of the building.
New electrical service and wiring to the campus included the church sanctuary, Parish Hall and pre-school buildings to correct code violations and other deficiencies in the system.
All work was performed in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings, including matching original member sizes, profiles, materials, and historic colors.