• Banyan Tree Park Development - Lahaina HI
    The Works Progress Administration (WPA) developed downtown Lahaina's Banyan Tree Park.  The park surrounds an immense banyan tree (a variety of tropic ficus) that covers three-quarters of an acre.  It is the largest and best known tree in Hawai'i. There is a stone marker in the park that says the WPA built the park, which presumably means that relief workers landscaped the park, added paving and built benches. It appears that the benches have been replaced recently. A massive wildfire burned through Lahaina in August 2023 and scorched the famous Banyan Tree; it is unknown to Living New Deal whether the tree and park...
  • Hale Pa‘ahao Prison Improvements - Lahaina HI
    Hale Pa‘ahao (stuck-in-irons house) was Lahaina’s “new” prison, built in the 1850s during  the whaling era. The prison has been restored three times, in the 1930s, 1950s and 1970s. The Lahaina Restoration Foundation reports that:  "During the 1930s, County of Maui sponsored reconstruction of the cells and stockade  by the Works Progress Administration (WPA)."  There is a stone marker acknowledging the WPA's work, as well. Another metal marker says that the gatehouse was restored in 1959.  Then, as the Lahaina Restoration Foundation report continues: "In 1967, Lahaina Restoration Foundation presented to Maui Historical Commission a plan for restoring the old prison. It detailed...
  • Honoapiilani Highway - Lahaina HI
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) awarded $98,627.49 for the Lahaina-Wailuku Belt Road, now known as the Honoapiilani Highway and State 30, running along the south coast of Maui. This was during the early stage of the New Deal when the PWA was known as the Emergency Administration of Public Works under the National Recovery Administration (NRA).    
  • Sea Wall - Lahaina HI
    The Public Works Administration (PWA) contributed funding for the construction of a sea wall in Lahaina, Maui, during the 1930s. The PWA gave a grant of $8,184 and the cost of the completed project was $18,186. The project was begun and completed in 1938. The exact location of this sea wall is unclear; several parts of Lahaina possess a sea wall, including along Front Street. However, one tourism site writes: "The Lahaina Harbor is in front of the old courthouse, which is a visitors center with knowledgeable and free walking maps. For the Lahaina Seawall—a must-do side-trip—walk over to the prominent Lahaina...