16 June 1985
When we visited Hawaii in 1984, we had a specific goal for our one day on the island — to visit the USS Arizona Memorial (click here to read the post). With no set plans this time, we spent the first day seeing the sights in and around Honolulu. So here goes … (the notes are from my photo album; no source was noted).
Iolani Palace was built by three architects. The “only royal palace built on American soil,” was completed in 1882. King David Kalakaua, known as the “Merry Monarch,” was the first to take up residence in the building. After his death, the palace fell to his sister, Queen Lili’uokalani, who lived there until she was deposed in 1893. She continued to live in the palace as a semi-prisoner until 1895.
The palace is a somewhat overly-rococo style better known as American Florentine.
The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Hawaii adorns the palace gate.
”Ua mau ke ea o ka`aina i ka pono"
"The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness"
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Left: Chinese Banyan Tree; Right: Bandstand on the palace grounds.
The Iolani Barracks are a replica of a Scottish baronial castle.
The State Capitol is a massive structure with cantilevered concrete ribs separated by glass mosaic tiles that manage to suggest the form of a volcano and the rhythm of the ocean. Koa wood from the Big Island lines most of the interior, and in the Senate and House chambers, many pieces of art are patterned after tapa designs. None of these, however, is quite so riveting, or as meaningful as the squat bronze figure of the immortal Father Damien.
The coat of arms and motto of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Replica of the Liberty Bell, presented to the State of Hawaii on 4 July 1950.
Queen Lili'uokalani ruled Hawaii between 1891-1893.
Father Damien was a Catholic priest much revered in the islands. Born a farmer’s son in Tremeloo, Belgium, he joined the missionary congregation of the Sacred Hearts in 1840. He was ordained a Catholic priest at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in 1864. In 1873, he volunteered to serve alone at the leprosy settlement on the island of Molokai. For 16 years, he ministered to doomed bodies, and by his presence, gave them the reassurance they so desperately needed that they had not been forsaken either by God or Man. On April 15, 1889, Damien died of leprosy.
The inscription on the statue reads:
“Greater love has no man than this that a man may lay down his life for his friend.”
The Punchbowl is the site of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. The ancient Hawaiians called the crater “Puowaina,” or the Hill of Sacrifice. The name rings true today as well. More than 22,000 American servicemen and servicewomen are buried here; among them 22 recipients of the Medal of Honor. In addition, over 26,000 names of servicemen missing in action are listed on marble walls called the Court of the Missing.
The inscription reads: "The solemn pride that must be yours to have laid
so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.”
Located just below the Koko Head Crater, the Halona Blow Hole is a natural sea geyser that spouts water through a submerged lava tube.
Not far from the Halona Blow Hole is the beach that was ...
[scanned from postcard]
… made famous by this scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.
[click the photo for the story of the movie]
The Nuuanu Pali Lookout offers a spectacular view of windward Oahu. Legend has it that King Kamehameha the Great fought a battle here during his conquest of Oahu and sent hundreds of island warriors tumbling down the pali (cliff) to their deaths when they chose to perish rather than submit. Their bones, the legend continues, lie by the thousands in the valleys below. Historians, however, have failed to verify the incident and the sounds heard here are likely not the wail of the glorious dead, but the wind.
And a few more photos taken here and there during our day of sightseeing in and around Honolulu …
The inscription on the World War II Memorial reads:
“In honor of all Americans of Hawaii who died in this world war that the
beauty and freedom of our land might be preserved for all humanity.”
This memorial is dedicated to the men and women of the State of Hawaii
who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States.
Downtown Honolulu from an overlook.
The State Capitol from an overlook.
Honolulu from an overlook — Waikiki is to the left.
Diamond Head Crater from an overlook.
(the black arrow points to the ala Wai Canal.)
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