Kahaluu Hawaii-1962: Painted Gable Sign on a Small Seaside Church Beneath Its Belfry

Archive Intelligence

Archive brief fit

Fits requests for early-1960s Hawaii travel footage that needs a named, readable Kona-coast landmark as an establishing or location-identifying insert.

Period detail

Nothing in this shot is itself datable; the circa 1962 estimate comes from the regular 8mm colour stock and late-1950s cars elsewhere on the same reel.

Home-movie behavior

A visitor stops to film the church sign up close, recording the name of the place the way a tourist would note a stop on a holiday.

What appears in frame

The shot holds a painted gable sign naming the church, a white belfry with a louvered vent, turquoise roof trim, a dark open doorway, the roof of a side wing, and the ocean running to a hazy horizon.

Film character

Handheld 8mm colour with a strong blue-violet cast, fine grain, soft focus, hard sunlit shadow, and dust and hair specks from the projected print.

Edit role

Works as a short establishing shot or location-title insert that names the place before wider shots of the coast, or as a memory beat in a holiday sequence.

Historical context

The building is an 1880s clapboard chapel moved to Kahaluu Bay in 1912 beside an ancient heiau site, and it is shown here as a stop on a mid-century visitor's trip.

Research note

No people appear; the film's copyright is separate from any property or institutional interest in the church, so religious-site use should be handled with care and no clearance is guaranteed.

Research search match

Researchers might search for St. Peter by the Sea Kahaluu, the Little Blue Church in Kona, 1960s Hawaii 8mm home movies, or a vintage Big Island church sign.

Archive pairing path

Pair first with this reel's lei stand, parasol float, conch shell blower and parade drummer clips, then with other Kona coast footage from the early 1960s, then with mid-century church and travel landmark shots.