Big Island · Kailua-Kona
Huliheʻe Palace
Huliheʻe
Huliheʻe Palace at 75-5718 Aliʻi Drive (across from Mokuaikaua Church) was built 1838 by John Adams Kuakini (Governor of Hawaiʻi Island, brother of Queen Kaʻahumanu). Lava-rock-and-coral-mortar construction, same technique as Mokuaikaua Church. Originally a private residence; through the late 19th century became a summer residence used by Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani, King Kalākaua, Queen Kapiʻolani, and other Hawaiian royalty. White stuccoed exterior added 1885. Since 1925 owned and operated by the Daughters of Hawaiʻi (hereditary Hawaiian women's organization founded 1903) as a museum of Hawaiian royal artifacts: koa furniture, ʻahuʻula (feather capes) and kāhili (feather standards), photographs, personal possessions. Open Tue–Sat with admission; verify current hours on daughtersofhawaii.org.
The palace is a museum operated by the Daughters of Hawaiʻi — a hereditary Hawaiian women's organization that has owned and maintained it since 1925. Pay the admission. Do not photograph individual artifacts close-up with flash; the koa furniture and feather work are sensitive to repeated flash exposure. Do not touch the displays. The seawall and gardens behind the palace are public; the palace interior is private property requiring admission.