The Hawaii State Capitol features a distinctive open-air design, with a central courtyard that reaches toward the sky and reflecting pools that frame the building like an ocean. Architects John Carl Warnecke and Anstis-Bowers incorporated…
Midcentury Modern Civic Center
This walk takes you through Honolulu's downtown to admire the unique tropical modernism and bold brutalist architecture from Hawaii's early statehood era.
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1. Hawaii State Capitol
2. Kalanimoku Building
The Kalanimoku Building is identifiable by its dark, mid-century modern facade and the clean, rhythmic vertical lines of its concrete fins. Built in nineteen fifty-eight, this office block served as the primary hub for Hawaii state…
3. Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building
The Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building stands out for its Brutalist design, dominated by a grid of deep, recessed windows and heavy concrete fins that cast long shadows across the facade. When it opened in nineteen seventy-eight, Mayor Frank…
4. Princess Ruth Ke'elikōlani
The Hulihe‘e Palace features a striking exterior of lava rock coated in white lime plaster, a material that contrasts sharply against the dark volcanic stone. Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani chose this seaside location for her home, preferring…
5. Princess Victoria Kamāmalu Bldg
The Princess Victoria Kamāmalu Building features a distinctive, heavy concrete facade with deep-set, recessed windows that create a rhythmic shadow across its exterior. Built in nineteen thirty-nine, this structure served as the original…
6. Financial Plaza of the Pacific
The Financial Plaza of the Pacific occupies the city block bounded by King, Bishop, and Merchant streets. Its design features two towers linked by a low-slung, glass-walled lobby and a courtyard that sinks below the sidewalk level.…