The U.S. Immigration Office 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 ...

was constructed in 1934 based on a design by

C.W. Dickey Charles William “C.W.” Dickey (6 July 1871 – 25 April 1942) was an American architect famous for developing a distinctive style of Hawaiian architecture. He was known not only for designing some of the most famous buildings in Hawaii— ...

and Herbert C. Cayton. It was 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 ...

in 1973. Dickey was raised on Maui and became the acknowledged master of what became known as the "territorial style" of Hawaiian architecture. He had earlier designed the Alexander & Baldwin Building 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 ...

, but felt that the somewhat similar design of the Immigration building "summed up his work." Similar renditions of the tiled, double-pitched, hipped "Dickey roof" with wide eaves can be found all over the islands, especially after its revival on many new buildings during the 1980s and 1990s. Other elements of the Dickey style include balanced proportions, open areas designed to provide natural light and ventilation, and decorative details such as the inlaid compass on the waiting room floor and floral patterns on the terra cotta ceiling tiles. The site was a reception center for aliens arriving by ships during the various waves of immigration of laborers to the islands. The site is also recognized for the central role it had as a processing and

internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

site during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The

Honouliuli Internment Camp Honouliuli National Historic Site is near Waipahu on the island of Oahu, in the U.S. state of Hawaii. This is the site of the Honouliuli Internment Camp which was Hawaiʻi's largest and longest-operating internment camp, opened in 1943 and closed ...

, near

Ewa Ewa or EWA may refer to: Places ; Ethiopia * Ewa (woreda) ; Nauru * Ewa District, Nauru ; United States * Eastern Washington, the portion of the state of Washington east of the Cascade Range * ʻEwa Beach, Hawaii, a census-designated place * E ...

and

Waipahu Waipahu () is a former sugarcane plantation town and now census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District on the island of Oahu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 43,4 ...

, is the other site on the island of

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

that has met the criteria for national significance.Executive summary (Spring 2014
"Draft Honouliuli Gulch and Associated Sites Special Resource Study"

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

The site contained an office building and apartments for the employees of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and their families. Owned and managed by the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

, the complex must be returned to state control if declared surplus by the federal government. , the building houses Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security and the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health. A special resource study and environmental assessment released by the

in August 2015 determined that the Honouliuli Internment Camp historic site is a feasible addition to the national park system conditional upon securing public access to the site. However, the U.S. Immigration Station complex is not a feasible addition because the complex is currently used by the aforementioned governmental departments. Honouliuli Gulch and Associated Sites: Final Special Resource Study and Environmental Assessment.

References

Gallery

Image:US-immigration-station-Honolulu-main-building.JPG, Main entrance Image:US-immigration-station-Honolulu.JPG, Front lawn Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii Government buildings completed in 1934 Hawaiian architecture Buildings and structures in Honolulu National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu 1934 establishments in Hawaii History of immigration to Hawaii {{Honolulu-stub