Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Aloha Tower, Ali'iolani Hale, King Kamehameha, and 'Iolani Palace

  

My mother in law wanted to see the King Kamehameha Statue featured in H50.   So we drove to the Aloha Tower, parked, and walked over to King Street.   


King Kamehameha proudly stands in front of the Ali'iolani Hale - House of the Heavenly King.  It served as the seat of government for the Kingdom of Hawaii.  Today is home of the Hawaii State Supreme Court ... and the fictional H50 office!


This is the second statue cast in Paris to honor Kamehameha the Great.  The first was lost at sea in transit near the Falkland Islands.   

 

Kamehameha is draped with lei on June 11 - a state holiday in his honor.


Ali'iolani Hale is open to the public.   I was lucky to take this shot in between tourists walking through the atrium!


Across the street is the 'Iolani Palace.   The first cornerstone was laid in 1879 on the sight of a former royal residence made of wood.  Two monarchs lived in the 'Iolani Palace - King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani - before the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.


The gates are decorated with the king's seal.   


The palace served as administrative offices for the the Republic of Hawaii and the Territory of Hawaii.  Once Hawaii became a state, the government moved into a new building and the 'Iolani Palace and it fell into disrepair.   A preservation group has restored it for public tours.


The upper corner room was Queen Liliʻuokalani's "prison" during her house arrest after the overthrow.  The room (or a set of it) served at Steve McGarrett's office in the first H50 series.


The palace is decorated with Chinese Lanterns for the holiday season.  We walked back to the Aloha Tower for another view of Honolulu's icon.   Today is  open comments.   One randomly selected commenter from this week's blogs wins a book choice from my convention stash.  This giveaway is open to all readers.  Comments are open through Saturday, December 29, 10 pm in Hawaii.  I'll post the winner on Sunday, December 30, at SOS Aloha.

Mahalo,

Kim in Hawaii

16 comments:

  1. That Christmas tree is so pretty. Hope everyone had a nice Christmas.

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  2. Love the pictures...somewhere in my house is my pictures of the King!

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  3. I love these pictures Kim. You always make me want to visit Hawaii when I see pics like this.

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  4. I also love all the pictures. It would be wonderful if I could visit Hawaii someday and see everything you've shown us!

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  5. Love the pics too! Someday I'll see them in person! Thanks!

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  6. Love the photos. Great one of the beautiful Christmas tree with nobody in it. Sometimes the timing turns out perfectly for getting great shots.

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  7. I enjoy hearing about Hawaii's history and getting to see so many wonderful sites that I've never seen!

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  8. Wanna see this someday. What wonderful history. Has anyone written any great romance stories using these people or the background story or the locations????
    lisakhutson @ cox. net

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  9. Wow, these pictures are absolutely gorgeous and I love the Christmas tree. Would love to visit those beautiful places.

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  10. Nice holiday decorations

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  11. OMG the Atrium Is Absolutely Stunning, Yup that is the second place I want to go to when I vacation in Hawaii. Thank you Kim for taking us on a tour.
    have a good one Ann/alba

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  12. Love love the pics,,nice clock
    Kimh

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  13. Such beautiful pics. I love seeing them

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  14. "Hawaiian sunset peeping from the sea
    Smiles and says Aloha to his sweetheart Hawaii..."

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