Kamehameha Statues, Honolulu, United States

Standing: High
Rank: Rank 71 of 1,868

Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor

About Kamehameha Statues

The King Kamehameha statue in front of Aliʻiōlani Hale in downtown Honolulu is an oversized brass figure of Kamehameha I, the ruler credited with unifying the Hawaiian Islands and founding the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1810. It is the work of the American sculptor Thomas Ridgeway Gould and was erected in 1883. It is the second cast: the first sank with its ship near the Falkland Islands, and this replacement was paid for with the insurance money. It was unveiled during King Kalākaua's coronation in February 1883, and the statue appears on the Hawaiian state seal.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source

What's inside

The statue's surface is two-toned: a dark brown patina with gilded garments. Unlike the first cast, this one has four partly gilded bas-relief panels on the sides of its plinth, each showing a scene from Kamehameha's life; Gould died after finishing the model for the first, and his son Marshall S. Gould completed the other three. The panels show Kamehameha meeting Captain James Cook aboard the Resolution, Kamehameha as a warrior fending off spears, Kamehameha reviewing a war fleet off Kohala, and travellers resting by a road, illustrating his law guaranteeing safe passage on roads.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source

Season and crowds

The statue stands outdoors and can be seen at any time. The most notable time to visit is Kamehameha Day, the holiday on or around 11 June that honours the first monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. Every year around that date the Kamehameha statues are ceremonially draped in long, fresh lei made in Hawaiʻi to honour Kamehameha I and his achievements, and the Honolulu statue plays a prominent role in the celebrations.

Checked 2026-11-10 · Source