It is named for U.S. congressman Michael J. Kirwan, from Ohio, who took an interest in the development of American Samoa, and was instrumental in securing funding for a wide variety of improvements in the territory's infrastructure.

It is a utilitarian concrete structure, roughly cruciform in shape, with a corrugated metal gable roof, located behind the Department of Education building on Route 1 in Utulei.

This initiative resulted in the widespread electrification of the territory's islands, and the construction of roads and new schools, and was widely regarded as a model for improving education in underdeveloped parts of the world.

[2][1] The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on October 23, 2009.

[3] This article about a property in American Samoa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.