Photo courtesy of Don Gomez

Toil and rubble

St. Michael the Archangel Church in Kailua-Kona is torn down on Jan. 22 to make way for a new church, now in the planning stages. The 159-year-old building had been vacant since fall 2007 after a major earthquake the previous October and subsequent structural examinations revealed that the mortar in the walls was unsound. Prior to the Jan. 22 demolition, walkway bricks were taken up between Jan. 11 to 15 to be reused with the future church and the building was prepped to be demolished. St. Michael parishioner currently attend Mass in a large outdoor tent.