Makawao then was a barroom brawl of a town, filled with gun stores, feed depots, barber shops and saddle makers, all serving people the surrounding cattle ranches. Makawao (pronounced MOCK-a-wow) still evokes the little known and fast-fading Hawaiian cowboy life in its wood-shingled buildings, the horses tied up in front yards and the cowboy dolls and miniature Black Angus cattle in the toy store.
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Over the last decade or so, artists have transformed this once-dying cowboy outpost into a Sedona of the Pacific that many residents and business owners say is just starting to hit its stride.
"As far as a local place, like SoHo used to be, that's where it's at right now," said Robert Zaleski, a painter and an owner of Gallery Maui.
... But tourists who likely know of SoHo in Manhattan and Sedona in Arizona have hardly heard of this place. An hour inland from the beach resorts that made Maui famous, and away from the busy main route to the Haleakala crater, Makawao is not on the usual tourism circuit. ...
... Some old-timers complain that the place has been overrun by out-of towners, people they don't know and don't want to know. And despite the many authentic reminders of old Makawao — the quaint buildings, the absence of traffic lights, the rodeo — they mourn what they say is the loss of true cowboy life.
"We can't even ride a horse in Makawao town," said Herman-Louis DeCoite, president of the roping club, referring to the rise in motorized traffic.
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