Preservation Month Spotlight: Washington Place Galleries

Preservation Project Restores New Life to Second Floor

Washington Place has been at the center of social and political life in the Hawaiian Islands for over 170 years. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, designated a National Historic Landmark in 2007, and considered to be a structure of historical distinction in the United States, it was originally constructed in 1844-47. In 1848, Kamehameha III approved US Commissioner Anthony Ten Eyck’s wish to name it “Washington Place” in honor of George Washington.

Washington Place is closely associate with Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Hawaiian kingdom, and was her home from 1862 when she married John Owen Dominis, until her death in 1917.

From 1919 through 1959, Washington Place became the executive mansion for the territorial governors, and, after statehood, the Governor’s mansion of the state of Hawai’i (1959-2002).

Hawai‘i’s Governor and their family resided on the second floor of Washington Place until 2002 when a new home was completed on the property allowing them more privacy and the upstairs floor of Washington Place an opportunity to take on a more public face. However, prior to this project, the number of visitors allowed at one time up to the second floor was limited to 10 or 12.

The completion of four simultaneously pursued restoration projects: the removal of the screened porch; reconstruction of the front gate posts; restoration of historic door lock-sets; and the restoration of the historic site lighting, along with a structural upgrade, has allowed public use of the second floor that includes classes, lectures and displays in the four main rooms of the original house.

Displays in these rooms currently include:
•The Governor’s room, where photos of past Governors are displayed
•The Dominis room, where photos, furniture and personal items of the Dominis family are displayed
•The Washington Place room, which has historic images of the home and property
•The piano room, where Queen Liliuokalani’s piano is sited, and will be used for music education

This important restoration/rehabilitation project helps fulfill Queen LiliuLili’uokalani’s vision for Washington Place as a place where the Hawaiian language and music would be preserved.

Washington Place Galleries Rehabilitation & Restoration will be honored with a Preservation Award at the 44th Annual Preservation Honor Awards ceremony on May 23, 2018 in Honolulu.