In describing the restoration of the 1900 Shipman House in Hilo, the architect says it was a "labor of love for the owner." The owner describes it as "a midlife-crisis adventure." Either way, both owner Barbara Andersen and architect Spencer Leineweber (FAIA) turned a beautiful but run-down Victorian mansion into a sensational success story.

It began in 1993 when Andersen, a direct descendant of the Shipman family, decided to buy the property from the family corporation, W.H. Shipman Co. She says that decision was a good one because it gave her the freedom to accomplish just what she wanted to do with the historic house.

It took a year and a half to bring back the glory of the old house so that Andersen and her husband could operate it as a bed-and-breakfast. To get there, however, took some real creativity on the parts of both architect and owners.

For instance, much of the second floor originally was a ballroom, but that space had been turned into three bedrooms at one time. The master bedroom was without a bath, however, and Andersen says that situation would never do for a B&B, so Leineweber took what might have been a large closet and designed a bathroom for that space.

A new kitchen presented a special challenge because it was critical to the operation of a B&B for Andersen, who is an extraordinary cook. They decided to tear down what was a detached, outdated kitchen. With Andersen’s help, Leineweber designed a new attached structure that everyone agrees is within the aesthetic of the main house.

And in that kitchen Andersen and her husband turn out some of the most delicious and creative breakfasts to be found at any B&B anywhere. (I’ve stayed there and I know.) One of the reasons is that the breakfast fruit — presented in culinary magazine-worthy display — either comes fresh-picked from trees and bushes on their 5-acre property or from the Hilo Farmers Market downtown. That makes it all locally grown.

A key part of this story is that Andersen is the great-granddaughter of W.H. Shipman. The Shipman story alone is an interesting one. Briefly, the Rev. Shipman came to Hawaii from Boston in 1854 and eventually was assigned to a parish on the Big Island. His son W.H. Shipman grew up there but went to school at Punahou on Oahu and then to college on the mainland. He eventually married into Hawaiian royalty.

Over the years, W.H. Shipman acquired land holdings that stretched from the Puna Coast up to the volcano and also included properties on Mauna Kea. Ranching and sugar were the main endeavors of W.H. Shipman Co., which today still holds more than 17,000 acres on the Big Island. But the story of agriculture in Hawaii is about dramatic changes, so when sugar went out W.H. Shipman continued in ranching and farming, but turned portions of its land into needed business parks. Many of those changes were made under Roy Shipman Blackshear, who took over in 1976. Roy is Barbara Andersen’s father.

Andersen says she remembers fondly coming to the Shipman House for every school vacation, so that period is the date on which she chose to peg the restoration.

The Shipman House was designed by one of Hawaii’s most distinguished architects. H.L. Kerr’s portfolio in Hawaii from the early 1890s includes the McCandless Building at King and Bethel streets; the Yokohama Specie Bank at Merchant and Bethel streets; the brick Mission Memorial Building next to Honolulu Hale; the Hawaii State Library (with Henry Whitfield); Kawaiahao Hall on the Mid-Pacific campus; the Tan Sing Building on Smith Street in Chinatown; and the former Circuit Courthouse in Wailuku, Maui.

Every one of Kerr’s buildings is still standing except Wilcox Hall, which burned down years ago on the Mid-Pac campus.

Andersen says what really led her to her restoration "adventure" was when she tried to answer the question, "What will be my contribution to this family — to the Shipman legacy?" That’s when she decided to move ahead with as authentic a restoration as possible.

That included removing layers of exterior paint, which Leineweber examined under a microscope to come up with the house’s original color. And the exterior has what is called the original "sand-dash" finish in which handfuls of sand are tossed on new paint to create a long-lasting protective coat for wooden buildings in rainy tropical areas like Hilo.

Andersen says she drained most of her savings and got a loan that together provided the $1 million that it took to restore the house in 1996. It was a huge risk.

"Luckily," Andersen says, "the Shipman House B&B has been a very successful venture."