Kawaiahao Church - Honolulu, Oahu, HI
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denben
N 21° 18.274 W 157° 51.482
4Q E 618446 N 2356284
Kawaiahao Church is a Congregational church located at the intersection of South King and Punchbowl Streets in the historic capitol district of downtown Honolulu. The church and the grounds were named a National Historic Landmark in 1962.
Waymark Code: WMRDQH
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2016
Views: 3
Known as the "Westminster Abbey of the Pacific," Kawaiahao Church was the first Christian Church built on Oahu. It was commissioned by the regency of Kaahumanu during the reigns of Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III and dedicated on July 21, 1842. Designed by Rev. Hiram Bingham in the New England style of the Hawaiian missionaries, it was constructed of some 14,000 thousand-pound slabs of coral rock quarried from an offshore reef on the southern coast of Oahu.
Kawaiahao Church was frequented by the chiefs of the Hawaiian Islands as well as the members of the reigning Kamehameha Dynasty and Kalakaua Dynasty. The church is adorned with 21 portraits of Hawaiian royalty (Alii).
"Kauikeaouli clock," donated by King Kamehameha III in 1850, still tolls the hours to this day. To the right of the entrance you’ll find the peaceful tomb of King Lunalilo. This popular King ruled for just a little over one year and he wished to be buried “among his people” at Kawaiahao Church rather than in the Royal Mausoleum. To the left of the church you’ll also find the Kawaiahao Fountain. The High Chiefess Hao bathed in this sacred spring, giving the church its name: Ka Wai a Hao, or the water of Hao.
Kawaiahao Church still serves as a center of worship for Hawaii’s people, with services conducted every Sunday in Hawaiian and English.
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