Kawaiahaʻo Church

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 Hawaiian royalty. King Kamehameha the Third famously declared that the kingdom would be founded on righteousness here. Inside, the portraits of monarchs still line the walls, watching over services that often feature hymns sung in the Hawaiian language, just as they have for generations.