What Is the Aliʻiōlani Hale?
This was originally meant to be a royal palace, then became a government office building, and is now the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi!
What Makes It Historical?
When King Kamehameha V commissioned this building in 1871, he’d meant it to be a new royal palace, only the local government needed the space much, much more! So, after bringing aboard Australian architect, Thomas Rowe, to build a magnificent new palace, the king allowed it to serve as a magnificent new office building instead! When the cornerstone was laid on February 19, 1872, it was still seven years before construction began on nearby ʻIolani Palace!
The Aliʻiōlani Hale opened in 1874 under King David Kalākaua and housed pretty much all government affairs until 1893. That’s when the Citizen’s Committee of Public Safety led a coup to depose the monarchy, the declaration of which was read in this building! The Aliʻiōlani Hale became the Provisional Government’s judiciary headquarters, and is still the Supreme Court of Hawaiʻi today!
Ironically, the most famous feature of this concrete block, Italian Renaissance Revival building is its gilded statue of Kamehameha I out front. It was comissioned in 1878, not to commemorate the monarch who united the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1795, but the 100-year anniversary of Captain James Cook’s arrival in the islands! The project didn’t involve Native Hawaiians at all! Instead, Thomas R. Gould of Boston, living in Florence, got the job and, ignoring the photos sent to him of Polynesian faces, gave the Hawaiian king a Roman nose, spear, and cape. In short, we only understand it to be Kamehameha I because he’s wearing the sacred sash of Liīloa around his waist, designating him king of the Big Island!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Hawaiian Historical Society!
- Donate to the Hawaiian Historical Society!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
417 S King St
Honolulu, HI 96813
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
The building is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM!