Hawaii State Capitol

Burns designed the restoration of the royal palace built by King David Kalākaua and Queen Kapi{{okina}}olani; as part of that effort, the Queen Lili{{okina}}uokalani Statue in the Capitol Mall between the capitol building and {{okina}}Iolani Palace was dedicated on April 10, 1982. The site was once Haimoeipo, the royal residence of Queen Dowager Kalama and later King Lunalilo, who died there.

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. One of the more prominent monuments on the statehouse grounds is the Father Damien Statue—a tribute to the Roman Catholic priest who died in 1869 after sixteen years of serving patients afflicted with leprosy. Father Damien was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995, and canonized on October 11, 2009, by Pope Benedict XVI. His feast Day is celebrated on May 10. In Hawaiʻi, it is celebrated on the day of his death, April 15.

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 with the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy in the major and minor conflicts in which the United States was engaged. Likewise, the Korean-Vietnam War Memorial pays tribute to service members who died in those conflicts. 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 312 service members of the Vietnam War. A larger marble slab bears a Hawaiian language inscription of remembrance.

The Hawaii State Capitol is an American adaptation of the Bauhaus style termed "Hawaiian international architecture". It was designed by a partnership between the firms of Belt, Lemon and Lo (Architects Hawaii Ltd.), and John Carl Warnecke 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, symbolizing the Pacific 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 royal palm trees. There are eight columns in four rows at either side of the building, representing the eight main islands of Hawaii; sets of eight items appear in other places inside and along the outside of the building.
• The Capitol is built with an open-air design, allowing sun, wind, and rain to enter; the central atrium opens to the sky and rainbows can sometimes be seen inside the building when it rains.
• Four kukui nut trees (Hawaii's state tree) are a numerical reference to the four main counties in the State of Hawaii and the four major Hawaiian gods (Kukailimoku, Kane, Lono, and Kanaloa).{{cite web |last1=Tsutsumi |first1=Cheryl Chee |title=State Capitol Awash with Meaning |url=https://historichawaii.org/2018/01/18/statecapitol/ |via=the Historic Hawai'i Foundation |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |access-date=19 July 2019 |date=14 Jan 2018}} Sets of four items appear in many other places in the building.
• When standing in the center of the structure, the chandeliers from both legislative chambers, which represent the sun and moon, can be seen through the glass walls, while the area that is normally reserved for a rotunda in most capitol buildings is left open to the sky. It is said that the sky is Hawaii's capitol dome.
• German-American artist Otto Piene designed the chandeliers, which are kinetic sculptures made of small objects. The Sun chandelier in the House is made of dozens of gold-plated globes, and the Moon chandelier in the Senate is made of 620 white chambered nautilus shells.

File:Hawaii State Capitol, Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI - 52221001099.jpg|The Hawaii State Capitol is on Beretania Street.

File:Atrium, Hawaii State Capitol, Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI - 52221005984.jpg|The central atrium

File:Statue of Father Damien 3.jpeg|Statue of Father Damien outside the Hawaii State Capitol Building

File:HonoDwntwnfmCapitol.jpg|Reflecting pool

File:Hawaii State Capitol.jpg|Hawaii State Capitol photographed from the rim of Punchbowl Crater

From the time the Capitol was completed in 1969, the reflecting pool has had a persistent algae growth problem, due partly to the fact the pool is fed with brackish water from on-site wells. Attempts by the state to fix the problem included introducing tilapia fish into the pool and installing an ozone treatment system.{{cite news| last=Bernardo| first=Rosemarie| title=Capitol looking for fix to pools' algae problem |work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | date=2004-05-12| url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/05/12/news/story3.html| access-date=2008-02-04}} The state currently has the pool lining scrubbed manually with enzymes added to the water to combat growth. Some Capitol regulars say the algae growth has come to represent the pollution of the Pacific Ocean, in an ironic twist of the original symbolic meaning of the pool.{{cite news| last=Novak| first=Candice| title=Algae defeats state at Capitol pool| work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin| date=2007-03-05| url=http://starbulletin.com/2007/03/05/news/story05.html| access-date=2008-02-04| archive-date=2008-07-06| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706051454/http://starbulletin.com/2007/03/05/news/story05.html| url-status=dead}}

• List of Hawaii state legislatures
• List of state and territorial capitols in the United States

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Hawaii State Capitol}}

• {{Official website|https://governor.hawaii.gov/contact-us/hawaiʻi-state-capitol-tours/}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20041119083807/http://www.honolulu.gov/moca/historichonolulu.htm Historic Honolulu (The Capitol District)]
• [http://www.cupola.com/html/bldgstru/statecap/cap03.htm Description of Hawaii State Capitol] from [http://www.cupola.com CUPOLA]

{{Honolulu}}

{{Hawaii}}

{{US State Capitols}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Buildings and structures in Honolulu

Category:Government buildings in Hawaii

Category:Government of Hawaii

Category:Hawaiian architecture

Category:State capitols in the United States

Category:Tourist attractions in Honolulu

Category:Historic district contributing properties in Hawaii

Category:Government buildings completed in 1969

Category:1969 establishments in Hawaii

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu

Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Hawaii