LAHAINA – Restoration of the Pioneer Mill smokestack in Lahaina will begin this month, the Lahaina Restoration Foundation announced.
Work will include restoring the top 14 feet of the smokestack, which was removed in 2006 during the demolition of Pioneer Mill buildings.
The top will be fabricated from steel and painted to match the new paint being applied to the entire smokestack. It will replicate the design and size of the original smokestack, including the words "Pioneer Mill Co. Ltd. 1860."
The project is expected to take four months.
Other work includes installing 17 carbon steel tension bands to reinforce the smokestack, filling in the flue with masonry and outlining the flue perimeter with brick to match a brick walkway surrounding the base of the stack.
Cost of the renovation is around $600,000. The Lahaina Restoration Foundation is fundraising for the project through the sale of commemorative bricks that can be engraved and will be used in the walkway.
The price for a brick will increase from $100 to $125 on May 1, and bricks must be purchased by May 1 to be included in the first phase of the project.