Maunaloa was established by 1923 by Libby, McNeill and Libby as a base of operations for their pineapple enterprise. It remained a plantation town with a small commercial core and worker housing until 1975 when Dole, which bought out Libby in 1972, shut down pineapple production at Maunaloa. Following the purchase of Molokai Ranch by Singapore-based Brierly Investments in 1986, the town underwent a $32 million revamping between 1994 and 1999. Worker housing was replaced by more modern dwellings on smaller lots, and the commercial core received a visitor industry– oriented facelift with new structures, including a Kentucky Fried Chicken, the first national fast food outlet on the island.
Writing Credits
If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.
SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.