For more than 80 years, students of Waimea School on Hawaii island attended classes in a 157-foot-long, 5,580-square-foot plantation-style building that the state Department of Education designated as Building N. Constructed in 1915 and opened a year later, it was the first public school in the picturesque ranching community.

Building N’s seven rooms were each assigned to a different grade. Students, who were primarily children of Parker Ranch employees, started in first grade at one end of the building. For second grade they moved to the next room, and so on until they reached the seventh-grade room at the other end of the building.

Many Waimea residents have fond childhood memories of the old schoolhouse built of redwood and Douglas fir. On the state and national registers of historic places, it is now the home of Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Isaacs Art Center, continuing as a place of learning and discovery.

That wouldn’t have happened without the community’s support and generosity. In 1999 the DOE decided to demolish Building N to make way for new classrooms. When Tom Quinlan, a licensed contractor and architectural conservation specialist, heard about that, he knew he had to do what he could to save it.

At the time, Quinlan was president of the Waimea Preservation Association. It was easy for him to rally the community behind the cause and, with that, get the state’s Historic Preservation Division to render the opinion that Building N should be moved rather than razed.

But liability was an issue: The structure was covered with lead-based paint, and there were asbestos tiles on its basement floor. DOE officials estimated it would cost around $2 million to fix the problems and asked whether Building N’s advocates would be willing to foot the bill. No one stepped forward, so in 2001 the DOE proceeded with demolition plans.

In the meantime Quinlan had contacted Richard Bauske, the Oahu contractor who had won the demolition bid, to see whether he would be willing to help preserve the Waimea landmark.

Bauske agreed to do what he could. His DOE contract required him to properly remove and discard the hazardous materials, but it did not specify that the building had to wind up in a landfill. If he didn’t dump it, however, where would it go?

By chance, Quinlan found out HPA was planning to build a new fine-art gallery, and he suggested that the school’s leaders look at Building N as an option. They did, but at first they were unimpressed; after all, the structure was 86 years old and in disrepair.

But then, one at a time, someone opened the pocket chalkboards separating each room, revealing a large hall — the perfect space for an art gallery!

HPA assumed ownership of the building gratis in June 2002 and moved it in sections a half-mile to its current site on the east end of its elementary and middle school campus. Patrons of the arts in Waimea donated $750,000 for an 11-month restoration project, after which Building N began its new life as Isaacs Art Center, named in honor of its primary benefactors, George and Shirley Isaacs.

Since opening in October 2004, the art museum and retail gallery has been one of Waimea’s major attractions. In addition to permanent acquisitions and works on loan from private collectors, it offers art for sale, net proceeds from which support HPA’s scholarship fund.

Represented in its six galleries are more than 100 artists who lived or currently reside in Hawaii, including Herb Kane, Jean Charlot, Lloyd Sexton, Martha Greenwell and Madge Tennent (see sidebar). Creations run the gamut, from ceramics, paintings and photos to ink drawings, sculptures and woodblock prints. There’s also glass art, jewelry, furniture, Hawaiian artifacts and vintage books. Some pieces date back to the 18th century.

“Isaacs Art Center provides a wonderful opportunity for visitors, kamaaina and students from all schools, not just HPA, to learn about Hawaiian history, conservation of art and architecture, and the varied skills and styles of those who captured the grandeur of our islands in visual art,” said Mollie Hustace, Isaacs’ director. “Art is an essential part of the human experience. It inspires, enlightens, stirs up emotions and nurtures the soul.”

Madge Tennent exhibit

In celebration of Waimea School’s 100th anniversary, an exhibit featuring acclaimed island artist Madge Tennent (1889-1972) will be on view at Isaacs Art Center from Friday through Nov. 12 (the public is invited to the opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday).

“Rhythm in the Round: The Modernism of Madge Tennent” will showcase more than 40 of the artist’s works, including a sculpture, oil paintings, ink drawings and portraits on paper of Hawaiian royalty and family members that, for conservation reasons, are rarely displayed. The term “rhythm in the round” refers to the circular brushwork and large areas of brilliant colors that characterize Tennent’s style.

She and her husband, Hugh, established the Tennent Art Foundation Collection in Honolulu in 1954. After Tennent died in 1972, their descendants managed the foundation until 2005 when they gave its 80-plus artworks— the largest Tennent collection in the world — to Hawaii Preparatory Academy. The collection was relocated to HPA over the next three years for restoration, conservation and exhibition.

Spanning five decades, works for “Rhythm in the Round” have been selected from private collections and HPA’s collection, which includes “Local Color” and “Hawaiians Hanging Holoku.” In 1935 those two masterworks appeared in Tennent’s international debut, a one-woman exhibition in London, Paris and New York. “Local Color” was also featured in the 1987 opening exhibit of the National Gallery for Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., along with several Tennent portraits of Hawaiian royalty.

“Madge’s story of genius and dedication is seen through her early paintings at Academie Julian in Paris, her exploration of avant-garde impressionist styles and her Hawaiian masterpieces embracing the grace and dynamism of wahine in motion,” said Mollie Hustace, Isaacs’ director.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.