Iolani Barracks, or ''hale koa'' (house fwarriors); in Hawaiian, was built in 1870, designed by the architect

Theodore Heuck Theodore C. Heuck (1830–1877) was an architect, a merchant, and a painter. He designed The Queen's Medical Center (dedicated to Queen Emma), the Royal Mausoleum of Hawaii in 1865, and ʻIolani Barracks in 1871. Early life He was born in ...

, under the direction of King Lot Kapuaiwa. Located directly adjacent to

Iolani Palace Iolani is a masculine Hawaiian name meaning "royal ''hawk''." It comes from the Hawaiian words ''ʻio'', meaning "Hawaiian hawk," and ''lani'', meaning "royal." It may refer to: *ʻIolani School, a private school located in Hawaii *ʻIolani Palac ...

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

, it housed about 80 members of the monarch's Royal Guard until the overthrow of the

Monarchy A monarchy is a government#Forms, form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The legitimacy (political)#monarchy, political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restric ...

in 1893. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1978 as part of the

Hawaii Capital Historic District The Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii, has been the center of government of Hawaii since 1845. Location With the grounds of Iolani Palace and the Hawaii State Capitol at its core, the historic district reaches inland across B ...

Design

The structure clearly hearkens to the architecture of medieval castles of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

with its crenelated parapets and towers. It was constructed with 4,000 coral block walls from the same limestone source used to build Kawaiahao Church and the

Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Peace (French: ''Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix''; Portuguese: ''Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz''; Hawaiian: ''Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui''; Latin: ''Basilicæ cathedralis Sanctæ Mariæ de Pac ...

and has a slate roof. It is surrounded by rooms once used by the guards as a mess hall, kitchen, dispensary, berth room, and lockup. Iolani Barracks was originally built a block behind (''mauka'', or inland of) Iolani Palace.

1873 Barracks Revolt

On September 6, 1873, growing tensions between the enlisted men and the officers resulted in a mutiny after the Hungarian Captain Joseph Jajczay sent four men to the brig for deserting their post guarding the treasury. On the 6th, Jajczay returned from church to the barracks and was attacked by his own soldiers and the prisoners. When Adjutant General Charles Hastings Judd tried to calm the situation he was also attacked. The mutineers took control of the ʻIolani Barracks and later retrieved and loaded two cannons from near the palace. Authorities decided to wait out the mutiny by surrounding the barracks, but did not attack. On the 9th, King

Lunalilo Lunalilo (William Charles Lunalilo; January 31, 1835 – February 3, 1874) was the sixth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii from his election on January 8, 1873, until his death a year later. Born to Kekāuluohi and High Chief Charles Kanaʻina, ...

interviewed the mutineers and issued an offer to them; 13 agreed and surrendered. The Hungarian-born Jajczay was replaced by

native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawa ...

Major William Luther Moehonua. On the 12th, the 24 remaining mutineers agreed to another offer by the king granting full amnesty to end the mutiny. After this revolt, Lunalilo disbanded the Hawaiian Army; it was not restored until King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, ...

came to power.

Post-Monarchy

After the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, the Royal Guard were paid their month's salary and disbanded. The barracks was used on several occasions as the headquarters of the

National Guard of Hawaii The National Guard of Hawaii was established by Provisional Government of Hawaii. It was a military branch intended to deal with internal conflict in Hawaii. After the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy the Provisional Government of Hawaii was ...

. The building was used as temporary shelter for victims of the 1899 Chinatown fire. It also housed government offices and at one point served as a warehouse. In 1965, the structure was moved, stone by stone, to its current location to make room for the

Hawaii State Capitol The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of the U.S. state of Hawaii. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state. The Hawaii State Legislature—com ...

. Today, the building serves as a visitors center for Iolani Palace and houses a gift shop, ticket office, video theater, and membership office.

References

* Sandler, Rob, Julie Mehta, and Frank S. Haines (2008). ''Architecture in Hawai‘i: A Chronological Survey,'' new edition. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing.
Friends of Iolani Palace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iolani Barracks Gothic Revival architecture in Hawaii Romanesque Revival architecture in Hawaii Military facilities in Hawaii Barracks in the United States Buildings and structures in Honolulu Historic district contributing properties in Hawaii 1870 establishments in Hawaii National Register of Historic Places in Honolulu pt:Palácio 'Iolani#Quartel da Guarda Real