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~ Hawaii ~
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~ Hawaii ~
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Iolani Palace, is uniquely the only royal palace on American soil. This beautifully elegant palace (located in central Honolulu, on the island of Oahu) was commissioned by King Kalakaua (Hawaii's last ruling king), and occupied by the royal family in 1882. The palace was originally constructed as the private residence for the Royal Family, and headquarters for the Constitutional Government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. King Kalakaua died in 1891, succeeded by his sister Princess Liliuokalani. On January 17, 1893, after years of secretly plotting to take control of the kingdom for their own monetary gain, a committee of shrewd "haole" (foreigner) businessmen backed by the United States Plenipotentiary and military troops, forcefully seized the throne, imprisoning Queen Liliuokalani in the royal palace and initialized the hostile overthrow of the Hawaiian Government. The committee established a Provisional Government, and by abolishing the Monarchy, eventually became a republic by 1894. The palace was renamed the Executive Building where it served as the seat of power for the Republic of Hawaii (1894), the ensuing Territory of Hawaii (annexed to the United States - August 12, 1898) and finally the State of Hawaii (admitted - August 21, 1959).
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THE STATE CAPITOL
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The State Capitol was built out of necessity to relocate the increasingly growing government offices from smaller quarters at the Executive Building (Iolani Palace) and to allow the restoration of Iolani Palace to it's original splendor and elegance under the Hawaiian Kingdom. The beautiful open air structure is located in central downtown Honolulu, between Iolani Palace and Washington Place (former private residence of Queen Liliuokalani and current residence of Hawaii's Governor). |
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Rich in the symbolism of Hawaii's past, the Capitol is surrounded by water, a representation that Hawaii is an island state. The tall columns represent the Island's palm trees which have been a source of food and building materials, brought to Hawaii by the ancient Polynesian mariners on their voyages of discovery across the Pacific. |
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At each end of the structure, a massive coned shaped chamber forms the Legislative Branches of the Government, both rising from the waters like the volcanoes that originally created the Hawaiian Islands. |
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On the south grounds of the Capitol proudly stands the statue of Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning monarch of The Kingdom of Hawaii. In her hand she clutches the writings of her well known song Aloha O'e, also a copy of the Constitution of 1893 and a copy of the Kumu Lipo, the ancient genealogy origins of the Hawaiian people. |
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On the opposite end of the Capitol stands a replica of the original Liberty Bell, a gift to the State of Hawaii by the United States Government as a symbol of freedom and liberty for all. |
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At the entrance, stands a statue of Father Joseph Damien de Veuster, the Belgian Roman Catholic priest and missionary to the isolated leper colony of Molokai. He devoted his life to the alleviation of their physical and spiritual misery, living and working alongside these unfortunate, almost abandoned victims for a period of sixteen years until he also became infected, dying in 1889. He built chapels and orphanages, helped to obtain better food, clothing, adequate housing, and assure a supply of clean potable water. He is remembered for his loving closeness to these unfortunates and his selfless labors of devotion to their welfare. |
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 The Eternal Flame stands as an everlasting memorial to all of the men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces and those individuals that gave their lifes to protect the rights of freedom for all people of the world. |
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A bird's eye view of the Capitol, with the Pacific Ocean in the background horizon. |
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Last Updated : December 18,1996
