Hawaii State Capitol

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The Hawaii State Capitol is the state capitol of Hawaii in the United States . The building houses the parliament and all associated offices. This is made up of the 25 members of the Hawaii Senate and 51 members of the Hawaii House of Representatives . The offices of the governor and lieutenant governor are also located in the building.

The Hawaii State Capitol in downtown Honolulu was commissioned by John Anthony Burns , the second governor of Hawaii, and dedicated on March 15, 1969. It replaced the previous statehouse 'Iolani Palace .

The Hawaii State Capitol seen from the southeast

Monuments

Burns planned the restoration of the royal palace of King Kalākaua and Queen Kapiolani. As part of this venture, the statue of Queen Liliuokalani was dedicated on April 10, 1985 in the park between the State Capitol and 'Iolani Palace.

The statue of Father Damien between Capitol and Beretania Streets.

Other monuments adorn the State Capitol grounds. At the entrance on Beretania Street is the Liberty Bell, a gift from the President and Congress of the United States to the Territory of Hawaii in 1950 as a symbol of freedom and democracy. The most famous monument on the Capitol grounds is the statue of Father Damien , a tribute to the Roman Catholic priest who died in 1869 after caring for lepers for 16 years . Father Damien was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 . On October 11, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI spoke . him holy . Two memorials honor the Hawaiian members of the armed forces. The Eternal Flame on Beretania Street is a metal-worked torch with a flame that burns forever. It is a tribute to all of the Hawaiian men and women who have served in the Air Force , Army , Coast Guard , Marines, and Navy in all conflicts, large and small, in which the United States has been involved. The Korean and Vietnam War Memorial was dedicated on July 24, 1994 by Benjamin Cayetano , 5th Governor of Hawaii, and consists of 768 black marble plinths with the names of the 454 fallen in the Korean War and 312 of the Vietnam War engraved. A larger marble slab bears a memorial inscription in Hawaiian . The coffin of the US singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole , who sang the song Over the Rainbow, was housed here in his honor (his ashes were scattered in the sea).

architecture

The Hawaii State Capitol is on Beretania Street.
Reflection pool

The architectural style is an adaptation of the Bauhaus style, called Hawaiian architecture. It was designed in a collaboration between the architects “Belt, Lemon and Lo” and “John Carl Warnecke and Associates”. In contrast to other state capitols, which are modeled on the Capitol in Washington DC, the distinctive architectural details of the Hawaii State Capitol symbolize various aspects of the nature of Hawaii. This includes:

  • Around the building there is a reflection pool that represents the Pacific .
  • The two plenary halls are conical in shape, they represent the volcanoes that formed Hawaii.
  • The columns around the building are reminiscent of coconut palms. There are also eight pillars on each side, representing the eight main islands of Hawai'i.
  • The Capitol is designed to be open, it lets in sun, wind and rain. The central courtyard is open at the top.
Hawaii State Capitol photographed from the punchbowl .
  • If you stand in the middle of the building, you can see the chandeliers of the two plenary halls, which represent the sun and moon, through the glass walls, while looking up at the sky. This is where the rotunda with a dome is located in most of the other State Capitols. That says the sky is the dome of the State Capitol of Hawaii.

Algae problem in the reflection pool

Since its completion in 1969, the reflection pool has had a permanent problem with algae growth, partly due to the fact that the pool is fed from a well on the site. To solve the problem, tilapia were used in the pool and a system for treating the water with ozone was installed. Currently, the walls of the basin are cleaned manually and the water is treated with enzymes intended to limit growth. Some regulars say the algae growth occurred to represent pollution in the Pacific, an ironic nod to the original meaning of the basin.

Web links

Commons : Hawaii State Capitol  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rosemarie Bernardo: Capitol looking for fix to pools' algae problem , Honolulu Star Bulletin. May 12, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2008. 
  2. ↑ Candice Novak: Algae defeats state at Capitol pool , Honolulu Star Bulletin. March 5, 2007. Retrieved February 4, 2008. 

Coordinates: 21 ° 18 ′ 26.1 ″  N , 157 ° 51 ′ 26.1 ″  W.