Architecture Month: Lyman Mission House Photographs

The Lyman Mission House, preserved by the Lyman Museum, has changed over time. The following photographs show the Mission House and its different uses, from the Lyman family home to a boarding house, a museum, and a period house. The house is now a place for learning about the Lyman family and their mission to Hilo.

The residence, built in 1839, is also an early example of a preservation project in Hawaiʻi. Listed on the Hawai`i Register of Historic Places in 1974 and the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1978, the building is preserved primarily for its distinctive architecture and its connection to education and religious history.

Each year architectural organizations mark October as Architecture Month. The month highlights the benefits of good design and its impact on communities. The International Union of Architects celebrates World Architecture Day on the first Monday of October. The United Nations celebrates the same day as World Habitat Day to emphasize sustainable buildings.

The Lyman Museum preserves many photographs and documents related to the history of the Mission House. To learn more, the Archives is open for research by appointment: https://lymanmuseum.org/archives/.

Note: Hawaiian diacritical marks comprise just two symbols: the ʻokina (glottal stop) and the kahakō (macron). We use them with Hawaiian place names, but do not add them to proper names if a family or a company does not use them.

Daguerreotype of the Lyman family home, ca. 1852. At the time the house featured a thatched roof, New England style dormer windows, and a front lānai (porch) with a metal roof. It incorporated vernacular techniques including the use of local koa and ʻōhiʻa lumber. The house sat just above the town of Hilo facing the bay. The dwelling would have looked like this from 1839 to 1856. The Lyman family are standing on the left side of the porch. Possibly, left to right: Sarah Lyman and Emma (in Sarah’s arm), Rev. David Belden Lyman, Frederick, unknown, Rufus, Ellen, and Francis Lyman. Copywork by David Franzen.
The Lyman house, ca.1860 with two large trees in front. In 1845, Rev. Lyman hired local carpenters to add on an office and barter room. In 1856, Rev. Lyman coordinated the addition of a second floor. The new construction included Douglas fir lumber from Oregon and a zinc roof. The house follows a Georgian style, with a center entry, rooms on both sides, and room for privacy. It departs from the Georgian style with Hawaiian characteristics including the two large lānai (porches) with multiple outside doorways.
Lyman house, 1881. Rev. David and Sarah Lyman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary that year. First floor left to right are Ellen G. Lyman, Sarah Lyman, Rev. David Lyman, Isabella C. Lyman, and Francis A. Lyman. Upstairs left to right: Levi C. Lyman, Ernest E., and Esther R. Lyman.
Andrews family house, ca. 1890. In the front, an unidentified woman sitting in a rocker and unidentified man are standing (possibly Lorrin A. and Alice Andrews). From about 1885 to 1908, Lorrin A. Andrews (1857-1911) lived in the house with his wife Alice H. Newell, their daughter Alice Lorrain, and Bertha Newell, a sister-in-law who was a teacher. When the couple divorced, Alice and her daughter moved to Berkeley, California. Andrews served as sheriff of Hawaiʻi County and was a district court judge. He married Susan Emeline Montgomery in 1908.
Weight family boarding house, ca. 1920s. An unidentified woman (possibly Jennie Weight) stands to the far left on the porch filled with hanging plants. A car sits to the right. Sometime before 1910, William and Jennie Blaisdell Weight (1858-1946) purchased the house and took in lodgers. Mr. Weight worked for C. Brewer Sugar Company. He died in 1921. For a period, Jennie Weight housed five lodgers, most of whom were public school teachers. A 1929 directory advertises the availability of “furnished rooms.” In April 1930, her son Albert, a bookkeeper, and Don Chee Kim, a Korean man who worked as a cook, also lived in the house.
On Sunday, June 29, 1930 the Hilo Tribune Herald reported on the expansion of Haili Street with an article titled “Old Historic Dwelling in Volcano City to be Torn Down for New Project Road.” They noted, “Now, however, the old house is to go. And as it is torn down there will be many who will regret to see its passing.” By August, plans had shifted. Instead of destroying the building, Emma Wilcox (the youngest child of David and Sarah Lyman) and Ethel Damon (a teacher and author) proposed the idea of a museum. While several people proposed a curve in the expanded street, others insisted it be straight. Wilcox purchased the house and the building was moved to face Haili Street instead of the bay.
Lyman House Memorial, 1953. Twenty-one people are standing on the second floor and in the yard. A large American flag and a Hawaiian flag are hanging from the porch. In 1930, Honolulu architect Hart Wood was hired to restore the building. Rehabbing the house was expected to cost $5000. He repaired and added rooms on the back of the building. American preservationists at the time, like Hart, were interested in putting historic buildings to good use and attempting to achieve an “effect” or “feeling” in a building. They were less interested than contemporary preservationists in discovering original materials or accuracy. The philosophy attempted an emotional effect of a place. For the Mission House, architect Hart Wood advised changes to create an “atmosphere of the past,” attempting to make it “feel” old to visitors. The museum opened in 1932.
Lyman House Memorial Museum, ca. 1970. This color postcard shows the grounds and building prior to the construction of the current Museum building. An American flag and a Hawaiian flag are hanging from the porch. For 40 years, the building served as a museum housing a diverse collection. In 1972, it became a period house while the new building incorporated exhibits about natural history and local culture.
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