[ A WALKING TOUR ]
Hawaiian royalty
backed St. Andrew’s
Back when local Episcopalians were known as the "Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church," construction began in 1867 on a nave with stone imported from England. As is the case with cathedrals in general, it took nearly a century to complete.
While visiting with Queen Victoria in 1861, Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma were mightily impressed with the stateliness of the Church of England. They decided Honolulu needed a cathedral. They raised $30,000 for the Anglican church, consulted with cathedral designers and began shipping prefabricated blocks of sandstone to Honolulu.
The complex at the corner of Beretania and Queen Emma Streets became a memorial to Kamehameha IV, and is named for the day on which he died in 1863, Saint Andrew's Feast. And Beretania is a Hawaiian misspelling of Britannia.
Rev. Thomas M. Staley, of England, arrived in the islands on Oct. 11, 1862, to assume the position of bishop for the planned cathedral. The first American bishop of Hawaii's Episcopalian congregation was Rev. Henry Bond Restarick.
After the French Gothic nave was constructed in 1867 -- the choir section was finished in 1886 -- the cathedral was twice enlarged, in 1912 and 1958, the former adding a two-bay extension, and the latter because room was needed for an enormous stained-glass mural rambling over the entire front of the structure.
It tells the history of Christianity, from Year Zero to 1958, and includes not just the baby Jesus, but also portraits of Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, plus taro plants and, way down in the right corner, a stained-glass termite.
St. Andrew's Cathedral
Opened: 1867 Architect: Unknown Style: Gothic Address: Queen Emma Square National Register: 1973 #73000663 Hawaii Register: No
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FILE PHOTO
Inspired by a trip to England, Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma decided Hawaii needed its own cathedral. Work on St. Andrew's began in the 1860s.
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
A couple of renovations later, St. Andrew's cuts an imposing presence on Beretania Street.
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Quicktime VR Panorama
Click on pictures to view panaromas
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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.
See Holoholo Honolulu for past articles.
