Kawaiahao Church

The Kawaiahao Church is the iconic building smack dab in the middle of downtown Honolulu. It's not uncommon to see very elaborate weddings take place here. This is an interesting juxtaposition to the old graveyard to the side. Supposedly, many of the downtown buildings nearby are haunted, a fact that some of my family members can attest to. Circle of life, indeed.

Experience a service that is partially in Hawaiian - the Lord's Prayer is said in Hawaiian and they usually have a song or two in Hawaiian. The small cemetery at the church has many of prominent families of Hawaiian history.

It doesn't look like too much from far off, but when you get close to this more than one-hundred and fifty year old building you can certainly start to respect it's exceptional nature. Since the Hawaiian islands are so young geologically there are only volcanic rocks to be found here. When it came time to construct this church, the builders chose to work with coral since the local rocks are too brittle. The result is one craggy yet unique building, that has gained a rich history. Leaders of Hawaii's short lived monarchy frequented this church, honored today with a collection of portraits on the second floor. They still have mass here, and even save the back few pews for descendants of the Hawaiian monarchy. Whether you are a religious individual, an architecture enthusiast, or simply a fan of the historic, Kawaiahao Church is worth checking out.

A church built with special building materials, and the area is also a lot of nice things to see, the church is not big, but it is built with many natural materials like coral stone, and there are some nice things to see.

Free tour! The exterior of the church is beautiful, the interior is solemn and elegant, the exterior wall is gray indoor with white tone, the wedding ceremony or viewing is a good choice. Close to Highway 1, convenient transportation and convenient parking.