Missionary and Merchant Honolulu

The three oldest houses on these grounds share a striking feature: walls built from slabs of coral reef, cut directly from the harbor floor by Native Hawaiians. Arriving in eighteen twenty, New England missionaries constructed these…

Fourteen thousand blocks of coral reef form the thick walls of Kawaiahaʻo Church. Hawaiian workers harvested these massive slabs from the ocean floor in the eighteen thirties, hauling them ashore to build a sanctuary for the Aliʻi, the…

The Kapuāiwa Building stands out for its thick, masonry walls finished in coral block and lava rock. Built in eighteen seventy-four, it served as the office for the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. King Kamehameha the Fifth…

The building at sixty-three Merchant Street is a structure of thick, load-bearing walls made from coral blocks cut from the Honolulu harbor reef. Finished in eighteen fifty-two, it served as the home of the Polynesian Insurance Company.…

Fifty-one Merchant Street holds a heavy, basalt-block facade that creates a sharp contrast against the modern glass towers of downtown Honolulu. Built in eighteen seventy-four, this building served as the first home of the Hawaiian Hotel,…

The Kamehameha the Fifth Post Office wears a facade of heavy, rusticated concrete blocks that look remarkably like natural coral stone. Built in eighteen seventy-one, it served as the kingdom's central hub for mail and government business.…

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace features coral block walls quarried from the Honolulu harbor reef. When construction began in eighteen forty-three, workers shaped these porous stones by hand to build the oldest Catholic church…

Washington Place features a tall, white-columned portico that stands out against the lush tropical greenery of its surrounding gardens. This mansion served as the private home of Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of…