Haleakala Highway: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Haleakala National Park, National Park Service

Owens, Erica

The Haleakala Highway cultural landscape is a historic district that includes the NPS-portion of the highway as well as the development nodes along its route. The Haleakala Highway is a 37-mile road from central Maui’s main town of Kahului to the summit of Haleakala, with the last 10.6 miles of the road within the Haleakala National Park. Along its entire course, the highway climbs to 10,000’ from sea level, attaining this height in a shorter distance than any other road in the world, and provides access and views of the Haleakala Crater. The 10.6-mile portion of the highway within the park boundaries was designed by the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) between 1925 and 1933 with input from the Hawaii National Park superintendent and National Park Service (NPS) landscape architects. Road construction on this segment of the road began in 1933 and was completed in 1935 with improvements made at White Hill and the Kalahaku Overlook. Modifications and improvements to the transportation corridor continued until 1941 before the U.S. entered World War II and picked up again following the war as part of the Mission 66 Program. Alignment and construction techniques of the road, buildings, and structures were carefully employed to decrease its visual and physical impact on the landscape and to showcase the spectacular views of the island and ocean below as tourists would drive to the top of Haleakala Crater and culminate at the summit with views into the crater. The cultural landscape resources documented in this CLI include the portion of the road owned and managed by the NPS and several of the developments along its route. The road corridor begins at the Haleakala National Park boundary at the northwestern corner of the park and ascends the northwest slopes of the Haleakala Crater with a series of switchbacks. Hosmer Grove, Park Headquarters Visitor Center, Halemau’u Trailhead, Leleiwi Overlook, Kalahaku Overlook, Haleakala Visitor Center (or White Hill Observation Station), and Red Hill (or the Pu’u’ula’ula Summit) are all accessed from the road. The period of significance for the historic district extends from 1933 to 1966, which begins with the initial construction of the road and covers the subsequent improvements and expansions of development nodes (such as Red Hill) along the road that furthered the park’s mission to enhance visitor access to the Haleakala Crater. The period of significance ends with the construction of the observation structures at Leleiwi Lookout Point and the Kalahaku Overlook, the last Mission 66-related structures within the district boundary. Notably, this period includes the two intensive periods of development that defined the historic character of the district: the 1930s and Mission 66 eras. The proposed historic district contains buildings, roads, a bridge, trails, walkways, steps, retaining walls, culverts, and other features from the 1933 to 1966 period of significance which create a cohesive assemblage portraying NPS master planning from the 1930s and Mission 66 eras, and the evolution of NPS style from rustic to modern. The naturalistic and modern character of the historic district is evident in the following landscape characteristics: natural systems and features, spatial organization, land use, buildings and structures, circulation, topography, and views and vistas, and archeological sites. These characteristics and their surviving features continue to convey the historic character of the road as a scenic highway.

Haleakala Highway: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Haleakala National Park, National Park Service

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