History at your feet
Colorful bits of history are all around you in downtown Honolulu. You just have to know where to look. And if you don’t, sign up with Ohana Walking Tours
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Jan. 17, 1993, then-President Bill Clinton and the U.S.Congress issued an apology to Hawaii for the annexation of the kingdom.
Speaking of the famous Iolani Palace, Wong reminds his tour groups that it is the only official residence of royalty left in the country.
“There’s so much history.It is very interesting, the things they’ve done with it,” says Wong.
Wong also walks his tour by what is currently the Court House, Customs House and Post Office in downtown Honolulu. “It was an Opera House that burned down, was replaced by a brick building and completed in 1922 and named for King Kamehameha,” he says.
Washington Place, Wong also mentions, was the home of Capt. John Dominis and his wife.
“In 1848,John was lost at sea.His wife rented rooms out to make money,” he says.
Moving closer to Chinatown, Wong shares some neat facts, including that, in 1987, the Davis Building was sold, and during an inventory of the building a fifth floor was found that nobody knew about. It was later learned that it was home to the Hawaii office of the CIA. Murphy’s Bar and Grill,he says,used to be the Royal Saloon, which had a hotel on its upper floor. King Kalakaua used to dine there. It was later demolished and replaced with the current brick building.
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Also, Chinatown has burned down twice,once in 1886 and again in 1900.
As his tour ends, Wong tells the story of Father Damien. In 1865, the priest ministered to a group of lepers on the north side of Molokai, at Kalaupapa. He later established St. Philomena’s Church at the site. Father Damien eventually died
after contracting leprosy, and his body was returned to his native Belgium. In 1995, the pope began sainthood ceremonies for Damien.
Ohana Walking Tours are offered Saturdays and Sundays from 9 to 11 a.m., rain or shine. Cost is $15 general and $10 for students and military with ID. Cash payment only is accepted. For more information, visit www.ohanatours.org or call the hotline at 1-866-204-7331.
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