Waikiki History Walk

Welcome to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, nicknamed the Pink Palace of the Pacific for its bright pink stucco and Spanish and Moorish style. It was born from a plan by the Matson shipping line and Castle and Cooke, one of the Big Five companies of territorial Hawaii. In 1925 they set out to make the islands a luxury destination, with a fast new ocean liner, an exclusive golf club, and a beach resort for the liner's passengers. They tore down the Honolulu Seaside Hotel here and hired the New York firm Warren and Wetmore to design this one.

It cost over 4 million dollars in 1927 money, had 400 rooms in an H-shaped layout, and sat in 15 acres of gardens. It opened on February 1, 1927, with a black-tie gala for over 1,200 guests. By 1928, Hawaii counted more than 20,000 visitors in a year for the first time. During World War II, the hotel served the U.S. military as a rest and recreation center.

This is the International Market Place, an open-air shopping center. The land has royal roots. King William Charles Lunalilo, the first elected king in Hawaiian history, once used it as grounds for his home. Known as the kind king, he later gave it to Queen Emma, wife of King Kamehameha IV, who is remembered for her humanitarian work.

Today the center's revenues support The Queen's Medical Center. In 1956, Donn Beach, known for Don the Beachcomber's restaurants, leased the land from the Queen Emma Foundation and founded the market. He built an office tree house in a large banyan and watched the action below. Musicians like Martin Denny, the bandleader behind the exotica sound, played its nightclubs, and singer Don Ho had a regular gig here.

By 2013 the buildings had fallen into disrepair and were bulldozed, but preservationists saved the main banyan. The rebuilt center reopened on August 25, 2016.