Jaggar Museum nearly removed from Kīlauea Caldera edge

It is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one at Uēkahuna.

The removal of Jaggar Museum and the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory buildings from Uēkahuna is nearly complete.

Jaggar Museum was the first park museum in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, sharing volcano science and Hawaiian culture with millions of visitors over many decades.

Today, workers will take down the HVO Tower, a solemn occasion for the scientists who fulfilled important work in these facilities. The buildings, which were constructed at the edge of Kaluapele (Kīlauea caldera), were irreparably damaged in the 2018 summit collapse of Kīlauea volcano.

Both Jaggar Museum and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory were severely damaged by the thousands of earthquakes during the eruption, that erupted in Puna destroying roads and covering properties.

“This revered area at the summit of Kīlauea volcano will eventually reopen to Hawaiian cultural practitioners and visitors without buildings,” park officials stated. “The historic low rock walls and viewing platform will remain, and awe-inspiring Kaluapele will dominate the viewscape again.”

Construction of the new USGS HVO field station is underway near the historic ball field adjacent to Kilauea Military Camp, well away from the caldera’s unstable edge.

The first buildings, originally referred to as the “Uwekahuna Museum,” were constructed by the Hawaii Volcano Research Association in 1927 at Uēkahuna, an area of deep cultural significance to Native Hawaiians and considered by many to be sacred. Soon after construction, the buildings were transferred over to the National Park Service.

The first buildings consisted of a small museum, known as the “naturalist building” and a lecture hall to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors. The lecture hall building also served as offices for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The visitor-serving areas were later renamed Jaggar Museum in honor of Dr. Thomas A. Jaggar, the volcanologist who first introduced the notion of having a permanent geologic observatory and laboratory on the island.

Jaggar managed the research program in the park for decades.

In the 1980s, the U.S. Geological Survey built the two-story Okamura Building adjacent to Jaggar Museum to house offices and laboratory spaces for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Later named after Reginald T. Okamura, long-time HVO Chief of Operations, this new building was the largest addition to the HVO and Jaggar Museum building complex. At the same time, Jaggar Museum underwent a major renovation and new museum exhibits were installed.

Both the new Okamura Building and the improved Jaggar Museum were officially opened and dedicated in a large ceremony on Jan. 16, 1987. This was to be the last major change to Jaggar Museum before the 2018 eruption.