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John Young Museum of Art John Young Museum Contact Information, Museum Hours, and Parking

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rauss Hall is the oldest wood frame building on the UHM campus. The building was erected in 1931 and is on the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Sites as a notable representative of Hawaiian architecture in the 1930s. The building was designed by Harry Simms Bent, who first came to Hawai‘i to assist Bertram Goodhue, the chief architect of the beautiful Honolulu Academy of Arts.

The museum is housed in one of several buildings in the Krauss Hall complex. The complex originally housed the Pineapple Research Institute, which conducted much of the scientific study of the domestication of the pineapple for commercial production.

In 1969, the Krauss complex and its almost 6 acres of land were gifted to the University. In 1971, the complex of buildings was named in honor of Professor Frederick Krauss, a long-time researcher in agriculture and director of the University's Agricultural Extension Service. In 1988, the University launched efforts to restore and renovate the section of the building that now houses the museum.

After several informal feasibility studies, Glen Mason undertook an official feasibility study and in 1991, the architectural firm of Urban Works received the State contract to design the facility and its gardens. Principal architect Lorrin Matsunaga worked closely with John Young and landscape architect Randal Fujimoto. In 1999, the museum received an Award of Merit from the American Institute of Architects/Honolulu and the Mayor's Choice Award for Architecture from the City and County of Honolulu.

The John Young Museum project is unique in that its funding did not come from state tax monies, but from surplus funds that had been accumulated over the years by UHM's self-supporting Summer Session. In 1998, Summer Session merged with the College of Continuing Education and Community Service to form Outreach College.

Dr. Kaname Yukiyoshi, president of the Kobe Women's University in Japan, also made a significant contribution to the Krauss Hall project, and in appreciation the University designated the "Kaname Yukiyoshi Room," a Krauss Hall conference room equipped with audio/visual equipment.