Hawaii State Capitol, Honolulu

Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capital building of the United States state of Hawaii. The executive and legislative arms of government rule the state from their respective chambers. The Hawaii State Capitol, located in downtown Honolulu, was commissioned and dedicated by John A. Burns, Hawaii’s second governor. It replaced the former statehouse, the Iolani Palace, on March 15, 1969.

The Hawaii State Capitol is a “Hawaiian international architecture” adaption of the Hakonya style. Belt, Lemon and Lo (Architects Hawaii Ltd.) and John Carl Warnecke and Associates collaborated on the building’s design.

The architects envisioned the Capitol as an island formed by two volcanoes — the cone-shaped Senate and House of Representatives chambers that flank the courtyard — surrounded by a reflecting pool symbolizing the Pacific Ocean.

The eight pillars in front of the Capitol’s entrances are designed like coconut palm trunks and represent the eight main Hawaiian Islands. The panels in front of the governor’s koa desk and the pillars running the interior and exterior of the fourth level are among the other areas where patterns of eight emerge.