Hawaii State Capitol - Open to the Sky

Photo: Farragutful, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Historic Downtown Honolulu Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Walk into the open courtyard and look up: there is no roof, just sky. Hawaii became the 50th state on August 21, 1959, after islanders voted overwhelmingly for statehood. Critics later pointed out that the ballot offered only statehood or staying a territory, with no option for independence. The government moved out of Iolani Palace into this building in 1969.

The architects packed the design with island symbols. The reflecting pool around the building stands for the Pacific Ocean. The two cone-shaped legislative chambers rising from it suggest volcanoes. The tall columns are shaped like royal palms, and the open center lets in sun, wind and rain, just like island life. Peek at the chamber doors and, when they are open, the chandeliers inside, a golden sun in the House and a moon of seashells in the Senate.

When you are done, walk out the palace side past Queen Liliuokalani's statue. The palace gates where you began are just across the lawn.

Getting here: Walk from the Damien statue straight through the entrance into the open central courtyard.

Did you know?: The Senate chamber's moon chandelier is made with hundreds of chambered nautilus shells.

Photo op: Stand in the middle of the courtyard and point your camera straight up to frame the square of open sky above the floors of offices.

More on Wikipedia: Hawaii State Capitol · Hawaii Admission Act

Hawaii State Capitol - Open to the Sky

Stops on this tour