Hulihe’e Palace is expanding its museum hours to be open on most Mondays, with hours of operation from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The only exception is on the Monday following the monthly Kokua Kailua Village stroll, when the
Hulihe‘e Palace is expanding its museum hours to be open on most Mondays, with hours of operation from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The only exception is on the Monday following the monthly Kokua Kailua Village stroll, when the palace is closed in the morning and open from 1 to 4 p.m. As of May 1, admission fees for adult, kamaaina, military and senior visitors increase by $2.
The new general admission fee schedule follows: adult, $8 for non-guided tour and $10 for a guided tour; kamaaina, $6/$8; military, $6/$8; senior citizens age 65 and older, $6/$8; children, age 18 and younger, $1.
Visitors can choose from a 45-minute docent-guided tour, a self-guided tour (detailed brochure provided), or can use a personal mobile telephone to access a free “On Cell” audio tour (regular mobile air me fees may apply).
Built in 1838, the two-story Hulihe‘e Palace houses a collection of ancient Hawaiian (pre-Western contact) artifacts and personal memorabilia of 19th century Hawaiian royalty. The palace structure has been painstakingly restored to circa 1885, a period known in Hawaiian history as the Kalakaua Era.
It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Standout furnishings include King Kalakaua’s magnificent armoire that won a silver medal in the 1889 International Exhibition in Paris, a 70-inch table top made from a single piece of koa wood, an ornate steamer trunk used by Queen Kapi‘olani to carry belongings to Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, King Kamehameha the Great’s stone exercise ball weighing a whopping 180 pounds and exquisite bed mats made from the endemic makaloa sedge.
Gift shop hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For details, contact the palace at 329-1877, the palace office at 329-9555 or visit www.daughtersofhawaii.org. The gift shop can be reached by phoning 329-6558. Caretakers of Hulihe‘e Palace are the Daughters of Hawaii. The organization was founded in 1903 and opens membership to any woman who is directly descended from a person who lived in Hawaii prior to 1880. Helping the Daughters in its efforts since 1986 are the Calabash Cousins, in which membership is available to all.
