Kawaiahao Church
| Kawaiahaʻo Church | |
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Kawaiahaʻo Church is known as the "Westminster Abbey of Hawaiʻi": site of royal inauguration, christenings, funerals and tomb.
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| Location | 957 Punchbowl Street Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | United Church of Christ |
| Website | www |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Church |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style |
Neoclassical Mediterranean Revival |
| Years built | 1836–1842 |
| Administration | |
| Division | Hawaii Conference |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Curt Pa‘alua Kekuna (kahu) |
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Kawaiahao Church and Mission Houses
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| Location | 957 Punchbowl Street and 553 S. King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Coordinates | 21°18′15″N 157°51′28″W / 21.3043°N 157.8579°WCoordinates: 21°18′15″N 157°51′28″W / 21.3043°N 157.8579°W |
| Area | 8.8 acres (3.6 ha) |
| Built | 1836-1842 |
| Architect | Hiram Bingham |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000294 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | December 29, 1962 |
Kawaiahaʻo Church is a historic Congregational church located in Downtown Honolulu on the Hawaiian Island of Oʻahu. The church, along with the Mission Houses, comprise the Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site, which was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1962. In 1966 it and all other NHLs were included in the first issuance of the National Register of Historic Places.
At one time the national church of the Hawaiian Kingdom and chapel of the royal family, the church is popularly known as Hawaiʻi's Westminster Abbey. The name comes from the Hawaiian noun phrase Ka wai a Haʻo (the water of Haʻo), because its location was that of a spring and freshwater pool in the care of a High Chiefess Haʻo.
Today, Kawaiahaʻo continues to use the Hawaiian language for parts of the service. It is one of the oldest standing Christian places of worship in Hawaiʻi, although four thatched churches stood at or near the present site before construction of the stone church. The oldest standing church is Mokuaikaua Church on the Big Island. Denominationally, It is a member of the United Church of Christ.
Kawaiahaʻo Church was commissioned by the regency of Kaʻahumanu, during the reigns of Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III. Designed by Rev. Hiram Bingham in the New England style of the Hawaiian missionaries, it was constructed between 1836 and 1842 of some 14,000 thousand-pound slabs of coral rock quarried from an offshore reef on the southern coast of Oʻahu. Hawaiian divers dove three to six metres below sea-level to chisel out each coral block with hand tools, and the blocks then were transported from the reef onto the shore.
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