Queen Emma’s Summer Palace
Woman in the Middle | September 16, 2016We actually did things besides eating while in Hawaii. I swear, we really did! Since I love all things history, one of the places we visited was Queen Emma’s Summer Palace.
Even back in the day, downtown Honolulu could get hot and humid. Queen Emma and her husband, King Kamehameha IV, would head for their home in the Nu‘uanu Valley above Honolulu, were it was less humid, cooler, and a nice breeze was blowing. I can confirm that even though it was hot and humid in Honolulu, down by the water, there was a lovely breeze and it was much nicer at the summer palace.
Queen Emma inherited the home from her uncle, John Young II, son of the famous adviser to Kamehameha I, John Young I. Below are photos of the front of the house.
The frame of the home was built in Boston in 1848, and was shipped to Hawaii via Cape Horn. It was then assembled on property purchased by John Lewis from the Hawaiian government. It was one story and had six rooms. On the front is a porch with Doric columns in the Greek Revival style.After she inherited the house, Queen Emma later added a large room on the rear, called the Edinburgh room. It was added in preparation for a visit by Queen Victoria’s son, Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh. The Summer Palace was Queen Emma’s retreat from 1857 to 1885. It is about a 10 minute drive from downtown Honolulu.
The house was still filled with original furnishings and there were cases with family artifacts. If you want to get a sense of the history of Hawaii, you definitely have to visit Queen Emma’s Summer Palace!
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