Famous Landmarks in Honolulu
A former royal capital where a stone palace and harbor tower anchor a compact downtown.
Honolulu's landmarks sit close together in and around its historic downtown, on land that once formed the Hawaiian Kingdom's seat of government. A coral-block Congregational church, built in 1842 from stone quarried nearby, still stands where four thatched chapels once served the same congregation. A few streets away, a stone palace completed in 1882 was the last residence of the kingdom's rulers before serving decades as the territory's and state's capitol. Toward the water, a tall tower raised in 1926 at Pier 9 marks the entrance to Honolulu Harbor, once the tallest structure in the islands. Together the three sites trace a shift from mission settlement, to monarchy, to a working Pacific port.
Iolani Palace
1882
Restored after decades as a government building, it stands as the only royal palace on U.S. soil, set within Honolulu's capitol district in the heart of downtown.
Completed in 1882, it was the last residence built for the rulers of the Hawaiian Kingdom, housing monarchs from Kamehameha III to Queen Liliʻuokalani before the monarchy's overthrow in 1893. It then served as the capitol building for the provisional government, the republic, and the territory and state of Hawaii until 1969. Restored, it reopened to the public as a museum in 1978. It is the only royal palace on U.S. soil and is listed as a National Historic Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.
- It is the only royal palace on U.S. soil.
- It served as Hawaii's government capitol for eight decades before reopening as a museum in 1978.
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Aloha Tower
1926
A ten-story tower rising 184 feet with a further 40-foot flag mast on top, standing at the harbor's edge and long the tallest structure in the islands.
Opened on September 11, 1926, at a cost of $160,000, the tower stands at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor as a retired lighthouse built in the Hawaiian Gothic style. At ten stories and 184 feet, topped with a 40-foot flag mast, it was the tallest structure in Hawaii for four decades. It has long served as a beacon welcoming arriving vessels, much as the Statue of Liberty greeted immigrants to New York, and remains a familiar landmark of the harbor today.
- Its 1926 construction cost of $160,000 would be worth more than $2.8 million today.
- For four decades it was the tallest structure in Hawaii.
Photo: Father of JGKlein (Public domain)
Kawaiahao Church
1842
Built of coral blocks and popularly called the Great Stone Church, it stands downtown as one of the oldest churches on its island, still using its congregation's original language for part of its services.
Raised in 1842 to replace a series of thatched chapels on the same site, this coral-block church served as the central church of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the chapel of its royal family, earning the nickname 'Hawaii's Westminster Abbey.' Also known as the Great Stone Church, the Hawaiian Tabernacle, and the King's Chapel among other names, it is the oldest church on Oahu. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, it remains an active congregation of the United Church of Christ and still holds part of its services in the Hawaiian language.
- Four thatched chapels stood on or near the site before this stone church was built.
- It is nicknamed "Hawaii's Westminster Abbey" for its role as the royal family's chapel.
- Its name comes from a freshwater spring once named for a high chiefess, Haʻo.
Photo: Mark Miller (CC BY-SA 4.0)
History
American Protestant missionaries arrived in the 1820s and by 1842 had raised a permanent coral-block church downtown, replacing a series of thatched buildings and drawing the Hawaiian royal family among its congregation. The kingdom itself built in stone nearby: a royal palace completed in 1882 replaced an earlier residence and served as home to the monarchy until its overthrow in 1893, then as the seat of the provisional government, republic, territory and state for decades more, finally reopening as a museum in 1978. As Honolulu Harbor grew into the islands' main commercial port, a beacon tower rose at Pier 9 in 1926 to guide ships in; for forty years it remained the tallest structure in Hawaii. These three buildings, mission church, palace and harbor tower, still mark the historic core of downtown.