Hawaii State Library

Honolulu Hale (originally called the Honolulu Municipal Building), located on 530 South King Street in downtown Honolulu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of the Mayor of Honolulu and the Honolulu City Council. In the Hawaiian language, hale (pronounced HAH-leh) means house or building. Honolulu Hale means Honolulu House (although the Hawaiian language word order would be Hale Honolulu). In 1978, it was listed as a contributing property to the Hawaii Capital Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Pursuant to Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution of Hawaii, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consists of 51 members representing an equal number of districts across the islands. It is led by the Speaker of the House elected from the membership of the House, with majority and minority leaders elected from their party's respective caucuses. The current Speaker of the House is Scott Saiki. Legislators are elected to two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. As in many state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaii House of Representatives is a part-time body and legislators often have active careers outside government. The upper house of the legislature is the Hawaii State Senate. The last election took place on November 8, 2022.

Honolulu (; Hawaiian: [honoˈlulu]) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island of Oʻahu, and is the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city. Honolulu is Hawaii's main gateway to the world. It is also a major hub for business, finance, hospitality, and military defense in both the state and Oceania. The city is characterized by a mix of various Asian, Western, and Pacific cultures, reflected in its diverse demography, cuisine, and traditions. Honolulu means "sheltered harbor" or "calm port" in Hawaiian; its old name, Kou, roughly encompasses the area from Nuʻuanu Avenue to Alakea Street and from Hotel Street to Queen Street, which is the heart of the present downtown district. The city's desirability as a port accounts for its historical growth and importance in the Hawaiian archipelago and the broader Pacific region. Honolulu has been the capital of the Hawaiian Islands since 1845, first of the independent Hawaiian Kingdom, and after 1898 of the U.S. territory and state of Hawaii. The city gained worldwide recognition following Japan's attack on nearby Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which prompted the entry of the U.S. into World War II; the harbor remains a major naval base, hosting the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the world's largest naval command.As Hawaii is the only state with no incorporated places below the county level, the U.S. Census Bureau recognizes the approximate area commonly referred to as the "City of Honolulu"—not to be confused with the "City and County"—as a census county division (CCD). As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Honolulu was 350,964, while that of the urban Honolulu census-designated place (CDP) was 802,459. The Urban Honolulu Metropolitan Statistical Area had 1,016,508 residents in 2020. With over 300,000 residents, Honolulu is the most populous Oceanian city outside Australasia.Honolulu's favorable tropical climate, rich natural scenery, and extensive beaches make it a popular global destination for tourists. As of May 2021, the city receives the bulk of visitors to Hawaii, between 7,000 and 11,000 daily.

The Hawaii Senate is the upper house of the Hawaii State Legislature. It consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands and is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membership of the body, currently Ron Kouchi. The forerunner of the Hawaii Senate during the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii was the House of Nobles originated in 1840. In 1894, the Constitution of the Republic of Hawaii renamed the upper house the present senate. Senators are elected to four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Like most state legislatures in the United States, the Hawaii State Senate is a part-time body and senators often have active careers outside government. The lower house of the legislature is the Hawaii House of Representatives. The membership of the Senate also elects additional officers to include the Senate Vice President, Senate Chief Clerk, Assistant Chief Clerk, Senate Sergeant at Arms, and Assistant Sergeant at Arms. The Hawaii Senate convenes in the Hawaii State Capitol in Honolulu.

The Territorial Building is a government building of the Territory of Hawaiʻi.

The Lunalilo Mausoleum (also called Lunalilo's Tomb) is the final resting place of Hawaii's sixth monarch King Lunalilo and his father Charles Kanaʻina on the ground of the Kawaiahaʻo Church, in Downtown Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu.

The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing 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, as well as all legislative offices and the Legislative Reference Bureau. 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, replacing the former statehouse, the ʻIolani Palace.

The ʻIolani Palace (Hawaiian: Hale Aliʻi ʻIolani) was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dynasty, founded by her brother, King David Kalākaua. It is located in the capitol district of downtown Honolulu in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. It is now a National Historic Landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After the monarchy was overthrown in 1893, the building was used as the capitol building for the Provisional Government, Republic, Territory, and State of Hawaiʻi until 1969. The palace was restored and opened to the public as a museum in 1978. ʻIolani Palace is the only royal palace on US soil.

Kawaiahaʻo Church is a historic Congregational church located in Downtown Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. The church, along with the Mission Houses, comprise the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site, which was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1962. In 1966 it and all other NHLs were included in the first issuance of the National Register of Historic Places. At one time the national church of the Hawaiian Kingdom and chapel of the royal family, the church is popularly known as Hawaiʻi's Westminster Abbey. The name comes from the Hawaiian noun phrase Ka wai a Haʻo (the water of Haʻo), because its location was that of a spring and freshwater pool of a High Chiefess Haʻo. It has also been called the "hale pule lahui", the Great Stone Church, the Hawaiian Tabernacle (luakini), the Mother Church, the Kingʻs Church, the Kingʻs chapel, and the "Aliʻi Church". Today, Kawaiahaʻo continues to use the Hawaiian language for parts of the service. It is the oldest church on Oʻahu and one of the oldest standing Christian places of worship in Hawaiʻi, although four thatched churches stood at or near the present site before construction of the coral church. The oldest standing church is Mokuaikaua Church on the Big Island. Denominationally, It is a member of the United Church of Christ.

The Father Damien Statue, also called the Saint Damien of Molokaʻi Statue, is the centerpiece of the entrance to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. A second bronze cast is displayed in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, along with the Kamehameha Statue. The landmark memorializes the famous Hawaiʻi Catholic Church priest from Belgium who sacrificed his life for the lepers of the island of Molokaʻi. Father Damien is considered one of the preeminent heroes of Hawaiʻi, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Cast in bronze, the statue depicts Father Damien in his later years after being diagnosed with the disease of those he attended. Much attention was given to the recreation of the disfiguring scars on the priest's face and his arm hanging from a sling.

The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives Honolulu, Hawaii, was established in 1920 by the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society, a private, non-profit organization and genealogical society, on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Christian missionaries in Hawaiʻi. In 1962, the Mission Houses, together with Kawaiahaʻo Church, both built by those early missionaries, were designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark (NHL) under the combined name Kawaiahao Church and Mission Houses. In 1966 all the NHLs were included in the National Register of Historic Places. The Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives collects, preserves, interprets, and exhibits documents, artifacts, and other records of Hawaii's "missionary" period from about 1820 to 1863. It interprets its historic site and collections and makes these collections available for research, educational purposes, and public enjoyment. The archive's collection holds over 3,000 Hawaiian, Western, and Pacific artifacts, and more than 12,000 books, manuscripts, original letters, diaries, journals, illustrations and Hawaiian church records. The historic site and archive is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The general admission charge is $12, with discounts for students, seniors, and the military.

ʻIolani Barracks, or hale koa (house [of] warriors) in Hawaiian, was built in 1870, designed by the architect Theodore Heuck, under the direction of King Lot Kapuaiwa. Located directly adjacent to ʻIolani Palace in downtown Honolulu, it housed about 80 members of the monarch's Royal Guard until the overthrow of the Monarchy in 1893. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as part of the Hawaii Capital Historic District.