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Aliʻiōlani Hale means “House of Heavenly Kings.” It was built by King Kamehameha V in 1874 (and Aliʻiōlani was one of the King’s given names.)

It was originally supposed to be the royal palace, but it was converted into a much-needed government building. The interior was gutted and remodeled to accommodate the court system in 1911. Today Aliʻiōlani Hale houses Hawaii’s State Supreme Court, a law Library and a museum on the Hawaiian judiciary.

The famous gold-leaf statue of Kamehameha the Great stands in front of the building and it’s across the street from ‘Iolani Palace.

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Diamond Head National Natural Landmark

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Welcome back to National Parks & other public lands with T! If you are seeing this on Twitter or Facebook, please visit the blog to see all of the photos and read the story by clicking the link.

Diamond Head is a dormant volcano crater. It provides the iconic backdrop to Waikiki Beach on the island of Oahu.

Hawaiians called the crater ‘Le’ahi’ (Tuna Ridge, because it resembles the fin of a tuna.) Western explorers thought they saw diamonds sparkling on the crater walls as they approached from the sea which is how it got the name Diamond Head. There were no diamonds.

The military built the trail to the top in 1908 and defensive bunkers were built at the summit during World War II. There are still antennae up there in use by the government.

The hike to the summit is the most popular trail on the island, so…

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The Aloha Tower – NRHP

National Parks With T

Welcome back to National Parks & other public lands with T! If you are seeing this on Twitter or Facebook, please visit the blog to see all of the photos and read the story by clicking the link.

The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse on Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor. When it opened in September 1926 it was the tallest structure in Hawaii at 10 stories. It cost $160k to build, a huge sum at the time.

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Like the Hawaiian Statue of Liberty, the Aloha Tower welcomed immigrants for decades. During WWII, it was painted camouflage. Today, it has an observation deck on the 10th floor, is surrounded by the Aloha Tower Marketplace (part of Hawai‘i Pacific University,) and welcomes cruise ship tourists to the port of Honolulu.