The Hawaii Capital Historic District in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, has been the center of government of Hawaii since 1845.

Location

With the grounds of

Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Palac ...

and the

Hawaii State Capitol The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—com ...

at its core, the historic district reaches inland across Beretania Street to include the buildings and grounds of

Washington Place Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the governo ...

and St. Andrew's Cathedral; crosses Richards Street to include the former Armed Services YMCA Building, YWCA Building, and Hawaiian Electric Company Building; crosses Queen Street on the seaward side to include State Tax Office Building; and reaches across Punchbowl Street to include the buildings and grounds of Kawaiahao Church and Mission Houses below King Street and the city government core of

Honolulu Hale Honolulu Hale (originally called the Honolulu Municipal Building), located on 530 South King Street in downtown Honolulu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of ...

and the Mission Memorial Building and Annex above King Street. Its architectural styles range from 19th-century adaptations of New England homes, through the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

and Neoclassical edifices of the

Monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

, through the Beaux Arts and

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

inspirations of the

Territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

. The district was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on December 1, 1978, after the nearby Chinatown Historic District and

Merchant Street Historic District The Merchant Street Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii, was the city's earliest commercial center. Location Bounded roughly by Fort Street at the southeast end and Nuuanu Avenue at the northwest, its older, low-rise, brick and stone building ...

had already been added.

Contributing Properties

A total of 20 buildings and structures contribute to the district: *

(1969) and grounds * Kawaiahao Church and Mission Houses and grounds, including Lunalilo's Tomb (1876) and adobe schoolhouse (1835) *

(1846) and grounds * St. Andrew's Cathedral (1867) and Tenney Hall *

Iolani Barracks Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning " Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: * ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Pal ...

(1870) * Aliiolani Hale (1874) *

(1882) and grounds, including the Old Archives Building (1906) and old mausoleum mound (1825) * Iolani Palace Bandstand (1883) *

Kamehameha Statue Several ''Kamehameha'' statues honor the monarch who founded the Kingdom of Hawaii. Original work The pictured statue stands prominently in front of Aliiolani Hale in Honolulu, Hawaii. The statue had its origins in 1878 when Walter M. Gibso ...

(1883) * Kapuaiwa Building (1884) *

Hawaii State Library The Hawaii State Library is a historic building in Honolulu, Hawaii, that serves as the seat of the Hawaii State Public Library System, the only statewide library system and one of the largest in the United States. The Hawaii State Library buil ...

(1913) * Honolulu Hale Annex (1916) * U.S. Post Office, Customhouse, and Courthouse (1921) *

King David Kalakaua Building The King David Kalakaua Building in Honolulu, Hawaii is a government building formerly known as the U.S. Post Office, Customhouse, and Courthouse. It was the official seat of administration in the Territory of Hawaii and state of Hawaii for the Un ...

(1922) * State Office Building (1926) * YWCA Building (1927) * Hawaiian Electric Company Building (1927) * Armed Services YMCA (1928) *

(1929) and grounds * State Tax Office (1939)

References

* Sandler, Rob, Julie Mehta, and Frank S. Haines (2008). ''Architecture in Hawai‘i: A Chronological Survey,'' new edition. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing.

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places History of Honolulu Buildings and structures in Honolulu Hawaiian architecture Neighborhoods in Honolulu Historic American Buildings Survey in Hawaii Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu