Iolani Palace
The royal residence of the Hawaiian kingdom, built 1879-82 and now open for guided and audio tours.
Iolani Palace was built between 1879 and 1882 for King Kalakaua and stands on a walled site in central Honolulu. Three architects worked on it in turn, with Thomas J. Baker's scheme largely followed, producing a style usually described as American Florentine: an Italianate mass of brick faced in concrete, with corner and central towers and deep verandas, or lanai, wrapping both main floors. It was unusually well equipped for its date, with indoor plumbing, electric lighting and a telephone installed within a few years of completion.
The palace was the seat of the Hawaiian monarchy until the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani in 1893; she was later confined in an upstairs room during 1895. The building then served as the capitol of the territory and, after 1959, of the state of Hawaii, until the legislature moved out in 1969. Restoration followed and the palace opened to visitors as a museum in 1978. It is a National Historic Landmark, and remains the only former royal residence in the United States.
Highlights
- The only former royal residence in the United States
- American Florentine design with wrap-around lanai verandas
- Grand hall, throne room and koa staircase on the tour route
- Royal Hawaiian Band plays on the palace grounds on Fridays
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