Kawaiahao Church - Built From the Reef

Photo: Mark Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

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

This stately church was built from the sea. Between 1836 and 1842, Hawaiian divers cut about 14,000 slabs of coral from offshore reefs, many weighing around a thousand pounds, and hauled them here. The missionary Hiram Bingham designed it in the New England style, and earlier thatched churches had stood on this spot before it.

Kawaiahao became the royal chapel of the kingdom, the place for royal weddings, christenings, funerals and the swearing-in of kings. In 1843, after a British naval captain briefly seized the islands and Britain gave them back, Kamehameha III held a service of thanksgiving here. The words he spoke that day about the life of the land being preserved in righteousness became Hawaii's state motto.

The tomb by the front gate belongs to King Lunalilo, who chose to be buried here among his people instead of in the Royal Mausoleum. Inside, portraits of Hawaiian royalty line the upper gallery, and services still use the Hawaiian language. Visitors may look in when the church is open.

Getting here: Cross King Street at Punchbowl Street and walk toward the gray stone church with the square clock tower.

Did you know?: Kawaiahao is sometimes called the Westminster Abbey of Hawaii because of its long role in royal ceremonies.

Photo op: From the corner of King and Punchbowl Streets, frame the church's square tower with Lunalilo's tomb in the foreground.

More on Wikipedia: Kawaiaha?o Church · Hiram Bingham I · Kamehameha III · Lunalilo

Kawaiahao Church - Built From the Reef

Stops on this tour