Managing Director Keith Regan removing the time capsule below the cornerstone. Photo courtesy of County of Maui by Ryan Piros
By Staff Reports
(Maui) – Demolition crews working at the site of the old Wailuku Post Office/Federal Building discovered a time capsule dating back to 1959.
Contract workers for Betsill Brothers Construction were in the process of removing the cornerstone of the building when they discovered a rectangular metal cannister underneath. Workers were at the time trying to preserve the cornerstone which says “United States of America, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President, 1959.”
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa was on Oahu at the time of the discovery. In his place, Managing Director Keith Regan removed the time capsule and its contents.
Inside was a letter from the general contractor who built the building, Thomas T. Tanaka of Honolulu, a book of blueprints of the building itself and a copy of the Maui News with the story of the new Post Office building on the front page, dated September 19, 1959.
(L-R) Dwayne Betsill, Jeremy Betsill, Justin Souza, MD Keith Regan, Ronald Mendoza at the cornerstone. Photo courtesy of County of Maui by Ryan Piros.
“What a great find,” said Managing Director Regan. “Our records did not indicate there was a time capsule in the building.”
According to the contractor’s letter, the price to build the Post Office was $639,055. The cost to demolish the building is $604,000.
Workers began tearing down the building on January 7, 2013 as part of the county’s Campus Master Plan for Wailuku. The old building had issues with asbestos, black mold and other infrastructure problems.
MD Keith Regan holding one of the items that was placed in the time capsule, a Maui News dated Sept. 19, 1959. Photo courtesy of County of Maui by Ryan Piros.
Once demolished, the County will use the property as a temporary parking lot. In time another building will be constructed that will enable departments to move their offices out of One Main Plaza, saving the County about $1 million in rent each year.
The three items that were found in the time capsule - a Maui News, a letter from the contractor, and blueprints of the post office. Photo courtesy of County of Maui by Ryan Piros.