Hulihe‘e Palace is Kona’s only existing royal residence and one of three palaces in the United States. (The other two are ‘Iolani Palace and Queen Emma's Summer Palace, both on O‘ahu.)
Hulihe‘e, built in 1838, was
the residence of Governor John Adams Kuakini and a favorite retreat for
Hawai‘i’s royal families.
The Palace was constructed
by foreign seamen using lava rock, coral, koa and ōhi‘a timbers. Kuakini oversaw the construction of both
Mokuaikaua Church and Hulihe‘e Palace and these landmarks once shared a similar
architectural style with exposed stone.
Flanked to the north by
Niumalu and to the south by Kiope Fish Pond, Hulihe‘e Palace was also the site
of the observation of the Transit of Venus (when the planet Venus crosses
between the Earth and the Sun) in 1874 by British astronomers, one of the most
important astronomical observations of the 19th century (helping to
calculate the distance between the Sun and the Earth.)
When Princess Ruth passed
away in 1883 leaving no surviving heirs, the property passed on to her cousin,
Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Princess
Bernice died the following year and the home was purchased by King David
Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani.
Extensive remodeling by King Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani in 1884 transformed the original
structure to suit the Victorian tastes of the late 19th century (with stucco
and plaster, widened lanai, and much to the interior décor.)
Early description of Hulihe‘e Place (Hawai‘i Nei, by Mabel Clare Craft
Deering – 1898:)
”There is a fine royal residence there, now the property of the dowager
Queen Kapiolani. It is a big house with a wide hall and immense rooms. The
kitchen and servants' quarters are detached, and there is an open lanai a little way from the house
where Kalakaua gave famous luaus and
hulas, and where his celebrated
red chairs were set in rows.”
“The house is marked by the tabu-sticks set up at the doors, sticks
with white balls at the top, in imitation of the old days when balls of white kapa at the top of the sticks marked
the residence of the king, within which common people could not go on pain of
death.”
“Inside, the house is a marvel of polished woods. There is a table of
satiny koa, the mahogany of the
Pacific, the" royal tree," fit to make you weep. This table stands in
the center of the drawing-room, and around the walls are elaborate carved
chairs, vases, and fine pottery from China and Japan. There are portraits of
Kalakaua, Kapiolani, and Liliuokalani, as well as busts of royalty. At the
windows are exquisite lambrequins of the finest kapa I saw on the islands, painted in patterns, and some of it
extremely old.”
“The big dining-hall across the vestibule has a fine carved sideboard,
and on it are a number of koa calabashes,
polished, and marked inside with the crown and royal coat - of- arms, etched
with a poker. These calabashes all have covers, and were designed for pink poi.”
In 1925, Hulihe‘e was purchased by the Territory of Hawai‘i to be
operated as a museum by the Daughters of Hawai‘i. (My mother was a Daughter.)
Most of the furnishings were originally in the Palace during the
Monarchy. Hulihe‘e Palace was placed on
the National Register of Historic Sites in 1973.
Hulihe‘e Palace contains a fine collection of ancient Hawaiian artifacts,
as well as ornate furnishings that illustrate the lifestyle of the Hawaiian
nobility in the late 19th century. Intricately
carved furniture, European crystal chandeliers and immense four-poster beds
fill the rooms.
Hulihe‘e Palace reveals the Hawaiian nobility's passion for western
fashions and is a reminder of Kailua's past as a favorite royal residence.
The image shows Hulihe‘e Palace and Princess Ruth’s hale on the palace
grounds (while she used and enjoyed the Palace, she typically slept in the grass hale –
1885.) In addition, I have added other
images of Hulihe‘e place in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my
Facebook page.
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