Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
King Kamehameha still gets dressed up on King Kamehameha Day.
Right behind King Kamehameha's statue is:
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Aliiolani Hale
This “House of Heavenly Kings,” with its distinctive clock tower, now houses the State
Judiciary Building. King Kamehameha V originally wanted to build a palace here and com-
missioned the Australian architect Thomas Rowe in 1872. However, it ended up as the first
major government building for the Hawaiian monarchy. Kamehameha V didn't live to see
it completed, and King David Kalakaua dedicated the building in 1874. Ironically, less than
20 years later, on January 17, 1893, Stanford Dole, backed by other prominent sugar plant-
ers, stood on the steps to this building and proclaimed the overthrow of the Hawaiian mon-
archy and the establishment of a provisional government. Tours are conducted Tuesday
through Thursday, 10am to 3pm (no charge).
Walk toward Diamond Head on King Street; at the corner of King and Punchbowl, stop in at:
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Kawaiahao Church
When missionaries came to Hawaii, the first thing they did was build churches. Four
thatched grass churches (one measured 54 ft. x 22 ft. and could seat 300 people on lauhala
mats; the last thatched church held 4,500 people) had been built on this site through 1837
before Rev. Hiram Bingham began building what he considered a “real” church—a New
England-style congregational structure with Gothic influences. Between 1837 and 1842, the
