Hawaii art museum wants to be your private hilltop retreat for $15M

In Curbed’s House of the Day column, we often write about homes with museum-quality art. Rarely, however, do we report on an actual museum that’s being sold once again as a private residence.

Located in the Makiki Heights neighborhood, high above Honolulu in Hawaii, this 5,245-square-foot building is known as the Spalding house. Built in 1925 and designed by Hart Wood, an architect known for designing beautiful homes for Honolulu’s elite families, the design blended the Hawaii regional bungalow style with Western and Asian influences.

The structure features deep lanais with wide open living spaces and good cross ventilation to take advantage of sea breezes. Eventually, Chris Smith of CJS Architects was hired to transform the house into a museum, and the listing now includes five gallery rooms with state-of-the-art air, humidity, and security systems.

The estate—which was part of the Honolulu Museum of Modern Art—also includes a pool, auxiliary office spaces, director’s residence, gift shop, classroom, and studio apartment. All with gorgeous ocean and city views, of course. Interested? The Spalding House is on the market now for $15 million.