Capitol Walk

Aloha & Welcome to Honolulu

A special place like Hawaii,

 needs a special capitol building,

 or so they believed in the 1960's.

Our capitol is open to the elements,

and to the people. On one side of this

courtyard is the Senate Chamber.

On the other: the House Chamber.

Their outside walls are sloping stone 

representing the volcanoes that are the 

bedrock of these Islands.

Outside, the building is set among pools of water:

the ocean that surrounds us;

 out of which

pillars representing palm trees

 rise to support the roof.

That 'framed' tower is Honolulu Hale,

our City Hall.  It looks Spanish, but is actually

based on a fortified Italian castle.

"The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness"

 our motto.

The Hawaiian Language is our official language along with

English.  Interpreters of many flavors

 make a good living here though,

as we continue to attract folks from all over Asia,

 the Pacific,

and the World!

The offices are upstairs.  Lobbyists, staff, citizens,

 all hang out here by the railings

 where a lot of the REAL business of government is done.

You can see the State Flag

 flying in front of the building

 from these "corridors of power."

And the sky is always looking on,

putting things into perspective.

(one hopes :)

Looking down at the ground level

 yields a nice view of this watery mosaic.

Behind the capitol building,

 is our original government building:

Iolani Palace,

 built by Kalakaua for some three hundred thousand

dollars in the 19th Century.

All Done Up for a Festive Event.

Link to a Royal past and a troubled political history.

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A true tale is told (courtesy of the great Glen Grant)

of a government employee

who stayed late one evening

working at the new Capitol.

Her young daughter played in the halls just outside

as they waited for father to come

collect them for the ride home.

All the way home,

the little girl spoke excitedly about

playing with a nice lady

whose arms were draped in lei.

The mother had smelled flowers

& faint cigar smoke. She assumed it 

was a staffer or cleaner the girl spoke of.

Or perhaps it was childish imagination.

Weeks later, when the statue of

 Queen Liliuokalani 

between the two iconic 

buildings was unveiled,

Hawaiians present protested covering

Her neck piece (more HERE)

with lei, and so the statue's arms

were draped in dozens of flowery garlands.

"Mommy! That's the nice lady

who played with me!"

Squealed the little girl.

The Queen has been seen,

 the smell of flowers 

and her favored small cigars

left behind, many times since.

She is still looking out for Her

People.

And besides:

who would really want to leave

this fragrant & magic land?

As yesterday was King Kalakaua's 174th birthday,

Hawaii National Guard Soldiers acting as ceremonial

Royal Guards stood sentry at the palace gates.

The past lives here!

“May the dreams of your past

 be the reality of your future.”

anonymous 

And may only benevolent airs

and spirits surround

YOU

this day. . . 

. . . and always.

cloudia