A Gorgeous Two-Story Classic Hawai‘i Home Bites the Dust

On Kaimukī’s 10th Avenue, a gem is lost.

May 11, 2016

Rachel Ross,

The 10th Avenue Home.

Photos: Lauren Caldiero

Built in 1927, this 10th Avenue home, located between Kaimukī and Maunaloa streets, was worth stopping to take a photo of. The two-story classic Hawai‘i home, complete with a lava rock entry and balcony, on a big open lot, made you feel like you were looking back into history. A charming, uncrowded, quiet Kaimukī where you couldn’t hear your neighbors shower. Or worse.

But change rolls on. In March, the property sold for $2.6 million. On April 9, the bulldozers arrived, and this rare beauty came down.

The home was indeed a developer’s dream, as noted in the remarks of the listing agent. It sat on a 20,000-square-foot lot and was zoned R-5, which allows for building one residence for every 5,000 square feet of land. Similar lots around it are divided into four, and records show it had been approved for four sewer connections prior to the sale. The old house was doomed the day it was listed.

Lauren Caldiero was one of those who stopped to Instagram the house while it was still standing, and says, “According to the neighbors, it belonged to the Masuda family for years and was one of the first houses built in Kaimukī. I asked the bulldozer operator if I could take a peek before he started and he let me. It was in excellent condition. Wood floors, glass cabinets, tongue-and-groove walls and ceiling. It had a big staircase in the middle and the second-floor bedrooms looked out over Kaimukī with beautiful paned windows and lānai. It is so unusual to see a two-story house from this era. There was an unfinished basement, which is also unusual in Hawai‘i. It still had all the original ceramic/porcelain sinks and tubs, too.”

The new owners each own a 25-percent interest, so look for a group of four new homes soon at 839 10th Avenue.

Caldiero isn’t the only one mourning its loss. Sure, we need more homes for our growing population, but it’s still sad to see a beautiful snapshot of old Hawai‘i living go.