Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sang a hymn at Likeke Hall — an inconspicuous, one-story white building on the grounds of Kawaiaha'o Church. Next door, hundreds of Hawai'i residents spent their formative years in a small preschool, which has since moved to another building.

The two structures will come down to make way for a $14.5 million multipurpose center. And though Kawaiaha'o Church members are glad to see the new building come in, they are also sad to see the old buildings — part of the church for as long as many can remember — go.

"This is where we learned what fellowship was all about," said Kahu Curt Kekuna, senior minister at Kawaiaha'o, pointing to Likeke Hall.

Kekuna was speaking to a group of about 25 congregation members who had gathered at the church yesterday morning to remember the good times shared in the buildings. The gathering, known as an oki ceremony, was meant to thank God for the use and service of the buildings.

Demolition of the two structures will start Monday.

Likeke Hall was built in 1940, and includes a great hall where some services were held. Mostly, though, the hall was used for social events — Sunday school, Bible studies, Christmas celebrations and dinners.

The other building to be torn down, known as the administrative building, was completed in 1929 and included offices and a preschool.

"I am sad because our kupuna built this building," said Elizabeth Keohohou. The 85-year-old Kalihi resident was married at Kawaiaha'o and remembers coming to Likeke Hall on the first Sunday of the month to pray with members of dozens of other churches around the island.

Ruby Donlin, 63, of Windward O'ahu, said the demolition of the buildings will end a long chapter in the church's history. But it will start another, she added. "Our facilities are inadequate," she said.

The two buildings were designed by C.W. Dickey, a well-known architect who also designed structures at The Queen's Medical Center, along with the Children's Chapel at St. Andrew's Cathedral, Montague Hall at Punahou School and many luxury homes in the Islands.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.