Iolani Barracks - Home of the Royal Guard

Photo: Daniel Ramirez from Honolulu, USA, CC BY 2.0 (cropped)

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

This little coral castle, with its battlements and towers, looks like a toy fort, but it was the real home of the Royal Guard. King Kamehameha V had it built in 1870, and about 80 guardsmen lived here protecting the monarch. Its Hawaiian name, Hale Koa, means house of warriors.

The walls are blocks of coral limestone from the same source used for Kawaiahao Church, which you will see later on the walk. In 1873 the barracks was the scene of a mutiny, when soldiers angry at their officers seized the building and its cannons; King Lunalilo talked them into surrendering and then disbanded the army.

The guard's end came with the monarchy's. After the overthrow in 1893 the guardsmen were paid a month's wages and sent home. The building originally stood a block inland and was moved here stone by stone in 1965 to make room for the State Capitol. Today it is the palace's ticket office, gift shop and video theater.

Getting here: Walk across the palace lawn toward Richards Street; the white crenelated building is in the corner of the grounds.

Did you know?: Every stone of the barracks was numbered, taken apart and reassembled when it moved to this spot in 1965.

Photo op: Step back onto the lawn to fit the whole front, with its pointed gateway and crenelated parapet, into one frame.

More on Wikipedia: ?Iolani Barracks · Kamehameha V · Lunalilo

Iolani Barracks - Home of the Royal Guard

Stops on this tour