Maui - Hawaii - page 529

Begin at Banyan Tree Sq ( Click here ) with its landmark banyan, the Old La-
haina Courthouse and a coral-block wall just south - ruins from an 1832 fort. Turn
right onto Front St to reach Holy Innocents' Episcopal Church , at No 561,
which has a colorful interior depicting a Hawaiian Madonna, an outrigger canoe
and Hawaiian farmers harvesting taro. The site was once a summer home of
Hawaii's last monarch, Queen Liliʻuokalani.
Just south is the foundation of Hale Piula , Lahaina's attempt at a royal
palace. It was abandoned in mid-construction because Kamehameha III preferred
sleeping in a Hawaiian-style thatched house. Fronted by Kamehameha Iki Park ,
the site is now used by local woodcarvers to build traditional outrigger canoes.
Across the street is Maluʻuluolele Park , which once held a pond-encircled is-
land, Mokuʻula, home to ancient kings and site of an ornate burial chamber. In 1918
it was landfilled to make a county park.
Pivotal figures in 19th-century Maui are buried in the cemetery beside
Waineʻe Church ( Click here ) . Evocative inscriptions and cameos adorn many of
the old tombstones. Just north, old prison cells at Hale Paʻahao ( Click here )
held drunken whalers serving time.
Back on Front St, Baldwin House ( Click here ) is the oldest surviving
Western-style building on Maui. The adjacent coral-block Masters' Reading
Room was an officers' club during whaling days.
Back at the harbor, stop by the Library Grounds ( Click here ) for a look at the
Brick Palace and Hauola Stone. End with a drink at the Pioneer Inn ( Click here ) .
For many years this was Lahaina's only hotel; Jack London slept here.
Tours
Catamarans and other vessels fill the slips in Lahaina Harbor. Catering to the tourist
trade, they offer everything from whale-watching trips and glass-bottom boat tours to
daylong sails to Lanaʻi.
Pacific Whale Foundation ECOTOUR
MAP GOOGLE MAP
( 800-942-5311, 808-249-8811; www.pacificwhale.org ; 612 Front St; adult/child 7-12yr from $25/
18; reservations 6am-8pm, snorkel tours from 7am; ) The naturalists know their
stuff on this nonprofit foundation's cruises - one of the island's best. Several types of
trips, all focusing on Maui's spectacular marine environment, leave from Lahaina Har-
bor. Immensely popular are the whale-watching cruises, which depart several times daily