ʻIolani Palace
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| Iolani Palace | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| U.S. National Historic Landmark | |
.JPG) Iolani Palace is the hallmark of Hawaiian renaissance architecture
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| Location: | Honolulu, HI |
| Coordinates: | 21°18′23.84″N 157°51′32.25″W / 21.3066222°N 157.8589583°W |
| Built/Founded: | 1871 |
| Architect: | Thomas J. Baker, C.S. Wall and Isaac Moore |
| Architectural style(s): | Other |
| Governing body: | State |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL: | December 29, 1962[1] |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000293[2] |
ʻIolani Palace, situated in the capitol district of downtown Honolulu in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi, is the only royal palace used as an official residence by a reigning monarch in the United States and is a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two monarchs governed from ʻIolani Palace: King David Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani. After the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, the building was used as the capitol building for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory, and State of Hawaiʻi until 1969. The palace was opened to the public as a museum in 1978.
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[edit] History
[edit] Royal Palace
The ʻIolani Palace structure that exists today is actually the second ʻIolani Palace to sit on the palace grounds. The original palace, built during the reign of Kamehameha III, was a one-story Greek-revival building made out of coral block that was only one-third the floor area of the present palace. It was purchased by Kamehameha III from Governor Mataio Kekuanaoa of Oʻahu who had built it for his daughter (Kamehameha III's niece) Princess Victoria Kamamalu when he moved his capital from Lahaina to Honolulu in 1845. It was constructed as a traditional aliʻi residence, in that the palace itself had no sleeping rooms. It just had a throne room, a reception room, and a state dining room as well, with other houses around for sleeping and for retainers. Kamehameha III preferred to live in the grass huts he build around the palace. The building was named, Hale Aliʻi meaning (House of the Chiefs). During Kamehameha V reign it was changed to "ʻIolani Palace," after his brother Kamehameha IV's given names (his full name was Alexander Liholiho Keawenui ʻIolani). It literally means "royal hawk." The Palace served as the official residence of the monarch during the reigns of Kamehameha IV, Kamehameha V, Lunalilo, and the first part of Kalākaua's reign. The original structure was very simple in design and was more of a stately home than a palace, but at the time, it was the grandest house in town.
King Kamehameha V was the first monarch to envision a royal palace befitting of the sovereignty of a modern state such as Hawaiʻi. He commissioned the construction of Aliʻiōlani Hale to be the official palace of the Hawaiian monarchy. The building was constructed across the street from the original ʻIolani Palace structure. It was named after himself (his full name was Lot Kapuaiwa Kalanikapuapaikalaninui Aliʻiolani Kalanimakua) it means "House of the heavenly King". At the time, Hawaiʻi sorely needed a government building, since the government buildings of the time were small and cramped. Ultimately, Aliʻiōlani Hale became an administrative building instead of a palace, housing the judiciary of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi and various other ministries.
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By the time David Kalākaua assumed the throne, the original ʻIolani Palace was in poor condition, suffering from ground termite damage. He ordered the palace to be razed.
Kalākaua was the first monarch to travel around the world. While visiting other sovereign states of the world, he took note of the grand palaces owned by other monarchs. Like Kamehameha V, he dreamed of a royal palace befitting of the sovereignty of a modern state such as Hawaiʻi. He commissioned the construction a new ʻIolani Palace, directly across the street from Aliʻiōlani Hale, to become the official palace of the Hawaiian monarchy. The building was completed in 1882 and cost over $360,000. It had electricity and telephones even before the White House and served as the official residence of the Hawaiian monarch until the kingdom was overthrown in 1893. Beside Liliuokalani, Queen Kapiolani and other royal retainers were evicted from the palace after the overthrow.
ʻIolani Palace features architecture seen nowhere else in the world. This unique style is known as American Florentine. On the first floor a grand hall faces a magnificent staircase of koa wood. The Throne Room, the blue meeting room, and the Dining Room adjoin the hall. Upstairs are the private library and bedrooms of the Hawaiian monarchs, including the simple room where Queen Liliʻuokalani was imprisoned after the second of the Wilcox rebellions. The quilt she made is still there. In the basement is a photographic display of the Palace, the Hawaiian crown jewels, orders and decorations given by the monarchs, and magnificent regalia worn by the high chiefs of the islands.
[edit] Executive Building
Upon the overthrow of the monarchy by the Committee of Safety in 1893, ʻIolani Palace was converted into the capital building of the newly formed Provisional Government of Hawaiʻi and renamed as the "Executive Building". It later became the capitol of the Republic of Hawaiʻi, Territory of Hawaiʻi, the military headquarters during World War II, and the State of Hawaiʻi.
During the occupation of the palace, the governors occupied the second floor while the legislature occupied the entire first floor.[clarification needed]
[edit] Palace Restoration
After the overthrow of the monarchy, Provisional Government troops took control of the Palace. Government officials carefully inventoried its contents and sold at public auctions whatever furniture or furnishings were not suitable for government operations.
ʻIolani Palace became the government headquarters for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory, and State of Hawaiʻi. During World War II, it served as the temporary headquarters for the military governor in charge of martial law in the Hawaiian Islands. Used for nearly three-quarters of a century as a government capitol building, the Palace fell into disrepair after years of abuse and neglect.
Government offices vacated the Palace in 1969 and moved to a newly constructed capitol building on land adjacent to the Palace grounds.
In preparation for restoration, the Junior League of Honolulu funded and staffed an extensive historical research project. Researchers uncovered clues about construction, furnishings, and palace lifestyle in nineteenth-century newspapers, photographs and manuscripts found in various archives and libraries.
Overseeing the restoration was The Friends of ʻIolani Palace, founded by Mrs. Liliʻuokalani Kawananakoa Morris, grand-niece of Queen Kapiʻolani. This organization continues to manage ʻIolani Palace as an historic house museum and to share the history of the Hawaiian monarchy.
ʻIolani Palace opened to the public in 1978 after structural restoration of the building was completed.
Through the dedicated efforts of acquisitions researchers and professional museum staff, and the generosity of individuals, families and organizations, many original Palace objects have been returned.
Funding from government grants and private donations for conservation treatment and painstaking reproduction of original fabrics and finishes has resulted in the restoration of Palace rooms to their monarchy era appearance.[3]
It should be noted that the grounds of ʻIolani Palace are managed by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Land and Natural Resources but the palace building itself is managed as a historical house museum by the Friends of ʻIolani Palace, a non-profit non-governmental organization.
[edit] Recent Events
On January 17, 1993, a massive observation was held on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace to mark the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy [4].
On April 30, 2008, ʻIolani Palace was overtaken by a group of native Hawaiians who called themselves the Hawaiian Kingdom Government to protest what they view as illegitimate rule by the United States. Mahealani Kahau, "head of state" of the group, said they do not recognize Hawaiʻi as a U.S. state, but would keep the occupation of the palace peaceful. "The Hawaiian Kingdom Government is here and it doesn't plan to leave. This is a continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom of 1892 to today," Kahau said.[5][6]
In response, The ʻIolani Palace released a statement that while they "respect the freedom of Hawaiian groups to hold an opinion on the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, we believe that blocking public access to Iolani Palace is wrong and certainly detrimental to our mission to share the Palace and its history with our residents, our keiki and our visitors."[7] Additionally, the statement goes on to clarify the historical record that the original seat of government of the Hawaiian Kingdom was not ʻIolani Palace. The Palace was instead used as the royal residence while government activities were carried out in the original courthouse (now demolished) and later in Aliʻiolani Hale.[8]
[edit] In fiction
- The fictional TV series, Hawaii Five-O, had state police headquarters based in ʻIolani Palace.
- ʻIolani Palace plays a significant role in the Harry Turtledove books Days of Infamy and End of the Beginning as the seat of the Japanese puppet government of Hawaiʻi.
- A movie titled The Last Princess about Princess Kaʻiulani was filmed here in 2008.[9]
[edit] Images
 Hawaiian Coat of Arms on ʻIolani Palace Gate |
.JPG) ʻIolani Barracks, adjacent to ʻIolani Palace, housed the royal guards. |
 ʻIolani Hawk, the high flight of the hawk signified Hawaiian Royalty. |
.JPG) The Coronation Pavilion for King David Kalakaua and Queen Kapiʻolani in 1883. |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Iolani Palace". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=184&ResourceType=Building. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://www.nr.nps.gov/.
- ^ http://iolanipalace.org/history/restore.html
- ^ http://www.hawaii-nation.org/soa.html
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/01/hawaii.palace.takeover/index.html
- ^ http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/30/national/main4060938.shtml
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/us/01hawaii.html?ref=us
- ^ http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/6049/76/
- ^ Mike Gordon (March 20, 2008). "Princess Ka'iulani film outrages some Hawaiians". The Honolulu Advertiser.
[edit] External links
[edit] Resources
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