Hawaii State Capitol

The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches administer their duties in the governance of the state. The Hawaii State Legislature — composed of the twenty-five member Hawaii State Senate led by the President of the Senate and the fifty-one member Hawaii State House of Representatives led by the Speaker of the House — convenes in the building. Its principal tenants are the Governor of Hawaii and Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii.

Located in downtown Honolulu, the Hawaii State Capitol was commissioned and dedicated by John A. Burns, second Governor of Hawaii. It opened on March 15, 1969 and replaced the former statehouse, Iolani Palace.

Monuments

The Queen Lili‘uokalani Statue is in the Capitol Mall.

To restore the dignity of the royal palace built by Kalakaua and Kapiolani, Burns began its historical restoration and preservation so that the palace could be enjoyed by future generations as a monument to its beloved queen, Lili‘uokalani — a victim of a coup d'état led by American businessmen with the aide of the United States Marine Corps. As part of that tribute, the Queen Lili‘uokalani Statue in the Capitol Mall between the capitol building and Iolani Palace was dedicated on April 10, 1982.

Several other capitol building monuments decorate the statehouse grounds. The Beretania Street entrance features the Liberty Bell, a gift of the President of the United States and the United States Congress to the Territory of Hawaii in 1950 as a symbol of freedom and democracy. The most prominent monument on the statehouse grounds is the Father Damien Statue — a tribute to the Hawaii Catholic Church priest who died in 1869 after sixteen years of serving patients afflicted with leprosy. Father Damien was beatified towards canonization into sainthood by Pope John Paul II in 1995. Along with Mother Marianne Cope, Father Damien is expected to become one of the first Saints of the Roman Catholic Church from Hawaii.

Two monuments honor members of the armed forces from Hawaii. The Eternal Flame on Beretania Street is a metal sculptured torch that burns endlessly as a tribute to all men and women from Hawaii who served in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy in all the major and minor conflicts in which the United States was engaged. Likewise, the Korean Vietnam War Memorial pays tribute to the fallen service members. Dedicated on July 24, 1994 by Benjamin J. Cayetano, fifth Governor of Hawaii, the monument consists of 768 black marble pedestals engraved with the names of 454 service members of the Korean War and 312 service members of the Vietnam Conflict. A larger marble slab bears a Hawaiian language inscription of remembrance.

Architecture

The Hawaii State Capitol is an American adaptation of the Bauhaus style called Hawaiian international architecture. It was designed by a partnership between the firms of Belt, Lemon and Lo and John Warneke and Associates. Unlike other state capitols modeled after the United States Capitol, the Hawaii State Capitol's distinct architectural features symbolize various natural aspects of Hawaii. Among them:

• The building is surrounded by a reflecting pool (see reflecting pool), symbolizing the ocean.
• The two legislative chambers are cone-shaped, symbolizing volcanoes that formed the Hawaiian Islands.
• The columns around the perimeter of the building have shapes resembling coconut trees.
• The Capitol is built in an open-air design, allowing sun, wind, and rain to enter; the central rotunda opens to the sky. Like Hawai‘i itself in the U.S., the building is unique—the only capitol building in the United States to have such a design.

Some Hawaiian sovereignty activists have claimed that the Hawaii State capitol looks like a "jellyfish" creeping up on the Iolani Palace building next door.

Resources

• Hawaii State Capitol Brochure (PDF) (http://www.hawaii.gov/gov/office/Members/Rhonda/Folder.2004-05-12.5746/State-Capitol-brochure-5.12.04/)
• About the Hawaii State Capitol (http://www.state.hi.us/about/capitol.htm)
• Description of Hawaii State Capitol (http://www.cupola.com/html/bldgstru/statecap/cap03.htm) from CUPOLA (http://www.cupola.com)