[ A WALKING TOUR ]
Murphy’s claims
site long home to
drinking establishmentsCitizens and sailors have been hoisting glasses at this location for something like 150 years.
It had always been the site of a drinking establishment, and when Merchant Street was widened in 1889, the current building was erected by bar owner W.C. Peacock, who also may have designed it. Owners over the years included civil-rights attorney Harriet Bouslog.
The canted entrance on the corner reflects other buildings in the area, and an addition was built on the Nuuanu Street side around 1920. Inside the Royal Saloon, currently the home of Murphy's Bar & Grill, the addition is evident by a step-up area.
During Prohibition, the structure housed office and retail businesses, and it wasn't returned to restaurant usage until the 1970s, following the successful renovation of the T.R. Foster building across the street, which became a successful pub called Alfie's in the late 1960s. It's now home to O'Toole's.
The Royal Saloon is a modest brick building anchored by white stucco pilasters, cornice and balustrade, and the upper wall has a decorative slather of stucco as well over the exposed brick.
The window and door bays along the streets are regularly placed and give a feeling of spaciousness.
The roof is not visible behind the parapets and bricked cap course, but is a truss structure borne by the brick walls.
There also is a partial basement hidden inside, which probably came in handy during the dry Prohibition years.
Royal Saloon
Opened: 1890 Architect: Unknown Style: 19th Century Commercial Address: 2 Merchant St. at Nuuanu Avenue National Register: No Hawaii Register: No
BACK TO TOP |
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
The Royal Saloon, now the home of Murphy's, is back to it's original business -- selling drinks and atmosphere.
HAWAII STATE ARCHIVES
In the late 1960s, the red brick was covered with layers of peeling paint.
BACK TO TOP |
Quicktime VR Panorama
Click on pictures to view panaromas
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
Every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin Travel section, rediscover the charms of old Hawaii through a tour created by the Honolulu Historic Trail Committee and Historic Hawai'i Foundation and supported by the city's Office of Economic Development. The yearlong project commemorates Honolulu's bicentennial.
BACK TO TOP |
See Honolulu City Highlights
Various Honolulu historical organizations have clamored for years to have some sort of survey created of downtown Honolulu's historical sites. The mayor's Office of Economic Development stepped in last year to create order, and 50 locations were chosen as representative of Honolulu's history.
There is, of course, far more history in Honolulu's streets than indicated here, but these sites give the high points and can be visited on a walking tour lasting about three hours.
To commemorate Honolulu's bicentennial, the Star-Bulletin kicks off "Holoholo Honolulu" today, a year-long project to examine these historic properties. For the next 50 Sundays in the Travel section, stories and photographs will illuminate these sites.
But that's just the tip of the architectural iceberg. Viewers can step right into these locations via the magic of QuickTime Virtual Reality, a computer process that allows visitors from around the world to feel as if they're standing right there on the street.
WE'RE ALSO looking for old photographs of these sites to scan for public use. If you have anything, let us know:
Write to:
Holoholo
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
7-210 Waterfront Plaza
500 Ala Moana
Honolulu, HI 96813.E-mail:
bburlingame@starbulletin.com
