Honolulu Hale (originally called the Honolulu Municipal Building), located on 530 South King Street in

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

in the

City & County of Honolulu Honolulu County (officially known as the City and County of Honolulu, formerly Oahu County) is a consolidated city–county in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The city–county includes both the city of Honolulu (the state's capital and largest city ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of the

Mayor of Honolulu The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four ...

and the

Honolulu City Council Honolulu City Council is the legislature of the City and County of Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawai'i, the fiftieth state in the United States. The City and County of Honolulu is a municipal corporation that manages government asp ...

. In the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

, ''hale'' (pronounced HAH-leh) means house or building. ''Honolulu Hale'' means ''Honolulu House'' (although the Hawaiian language word order would be ''Hale Honolulu''). In 1978, it was listed as a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

to the

Hawaii Capital Historic District The Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been the center of government of Hawaii since 1845. Location With the grounds of Iolani Palace and the Hawaii State Capitol at its core, the historic district reaches inland across B ...

, which is listed on 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 ...

History

Honolulu Hale was an idea started by Joseph J. Fern. Before becoming a mayor-council type of government, Honolulu was administered by the Board of Supervisors. After the creation of the now-defunct County of Oahu, the Board of Supervisors met in city halls located in various downtown Honolulu locations. Supervisor Fern had a vision of a permanent home for the fledgling municipal government, which had only been created in 1900 upon passage of the

Hawaiian Organic Act The Hawaiian Organic Act, , was an organic act enacted by the United States Congress to establish the Territory of Hawaii and to provide a Constitution and government for the territory. The Act was replaced by the Hawaii Admission Act on Au ...

. When the County of Oahu and the Board of Supervisors dissolved in 1907 and established the City & County of Honolulu, Fern became its first mayor and began making preliminary plans for the construction of a city hall. Unfortunately, Fern died in 1920 of diabetes before he could persuade residents of the need for a permanent city hall. Mayor John H. Wilson, who was also the Honolulu Chapter President of the American Association of Engineers, carried on Fern's dream. Honolulu Hale was finally completed in 1928 with the help of every major architect in town— C.W. Dickey,

Hart Wood Hart Wood (1880–1957) was an American architect who flourished during the "Golden Age" of Hawaiian architecture. He was one of the principal proponents of a distinctive "Hawaiian style" of architecture appropriate to the local environment and r ...

, Robert Miller, and Rothwell Kangeter & Lester—but did not open for business until the following year. It was built in an

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 ...

Spanish Colonial Revival style The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

that was popular in the islands at the time. Its interior courtyard, staircase, and open ceiling were modeled after the

Bargello The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy. Terminology The word ''bargello'' appears ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. Einar Peterson was commissioned to paint frescoes in the interior while Mario Valdastri was commissioned to install intricate stonework. In 1951, two three-story wings were added to the original structure. A new, high-rise Honolulu Municipal Building was later constructed at 650 South King Street. In 2006, it was renamed the Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building in honor of

Frank Fasi Frank Francis Fasi (August 27, 1920 – February 3, 2010) was an American politician who was the longest-serving Mayor of Honolulu, Hawaii, serving for 22 years. He also served as a territorial senator and member of the Honolulu City Council. ...

, the city's longest-serving mayor. Surrounding Honolulu Hale are other prominent historic and artistic landmarks: Aliiōlani Hale,

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 ...

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 ...

, Kawaiahao Church, ''Sky Gate'' (a high sculpture by

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several ...

), and the

Territorial Building The Territorial Building is a government building of the Territory of Hawaii. Description The building is located at 465 South King Street in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. The Territorial Building was designed by the architect Arthur Reynolds, in the ...

Gallery

Image:HonoluluHale-frontdoors.JPG, Front doors facing King Street Image:Honolulu-Hale-frontcornerview.JPG, Corner view, Punchbowl and King Streets Image:Honolulu-Hale-tower.JPG, Tower viewed from Punchbowl Street Image:HonoluluHale-dedication-plaque.JPG, Dedication plaque (1928) Image:HonoluluHale-1951wing-Punchbowl-side.JPG, New wing (1951) from Punchbowl Street Image:HonoluluHale-sidedoor.JPG, Side door of new wing on Punchbowl Street Image:Honohale-back.JPG, Rear view of new wing (1951)

References

External links

City & County of Honolulu
{{Authority control Hawaiian architecture City halls in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Honolulu Government of Honolulu Towers in Hawaii Government buildings in Hawaii Historic district contributing properties in Hawaii Government buildings completed in 1928 1928 establishments in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu City and town halls on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii