AMERICA'S ONLY PALACE

                                        Iolani Palace

      I normally don’t post U.S. sites or events, but this one I feel is important.  We lived a decade in Hawaii, in fact the children, for all practical purposes, grew up there.  As we were leaving the islands,  restoration of the only palace in the United States was in progress. Hawaii is a very popular vacation destination and when I get to taking to returnees I almost always get a NO from them in answer to my question, “Did you visit Iolani Palace 

     Many know about the lavish abodes of our early wealthy merchants in Newport and other areas. They certainly could be in the palace category; although rich and in a category of their own, they were not royalty.

     Iolani Palace in what is now downtown Honolulu was the official residence of King Kalakaua from 1882 until his death in 1891. Then his sister, Queen Liliuokalani resided there until 1893 when the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown.

     The present palace was started in 1879 and completed in 1882 at a cost of $360.000 and is close to the previous one that termites managed to destroy.

      The Royal family’s living quarters were on the second floor, while the first floor was used for formal functions. The kitchen, storerooms and household  offices were in the basement. The attic provided space for cooling the palace.  In 1883 the coronation of King Kalakaua and his consort Queen Kapiolani was held in the Palace on the King’s 50^th birthday.

      Between 1893-1968 Iolani Palace was used as the capitol for the Republic, the Territory and finally the State of Hawaii.  When the new capitol building was completed in 1969, the palace was vacated and its restoration began.

     On the ground level a beautiful wide staircase leading to the second floor dominates the wide hall that runs the whole length of the  building. Built of Hawaiian woods, the staircase gracefully curves as it approaches the second floor.  The throne room, decorated in crimson and gold was the scene of royal audiences, balls and receptions.

     Across the hall the Blue Room was for informal audiences and small receptions. Large pictures of the Royal family are displayed throughout the Palace.

     The palace is on the city bus route. Parking, if driving, is tight but doable. Individual headphones contain much information and allow one to wander the palace at your own pace, a big improvement to a crowd listening to a history lecture by a docent.

A GHOST STORY

                                       Haunted Hotel

     One day talking to my granddaughter she told me she wasn’t sure how she felt about ghosts, but she  certainly believed in angels. That reminded me of the ghost story at one of the Sydney, Australia hotels where I stayed.

     I found the  story framed on the wall of my room. It explained that the second part of the building had been built of sandstone with Georgian flattened brick arches over the windows. Built the terrace houses were known as Scarlett’s Cottages. Scarlett, a well known lady of the night, lived and died in the area.

     I asked reception for a copy of the story which they happily gave to me and is still in my scrapbook. It stated that Scarlett was Eric’s one true love, but although in a moment of thoughtlessness she declared her love for him, she did not mean it. However, Eric died before learning of Scarlett’s lie.  It is said to this day Eric wanders the halls and rooms of the cottages searching and calling for Scarlett who also had met an untimely and tragic death.  On occasion Eric has appeared in front of surprised hotel staff members questioning them of Scarlett’s whereabouts.

     The 150 year-old hotel was built on the site of Sydney’s first hospital. After the hospital was moved, the terrace cottages were added and the building became a hotel.

     Each evening we would kid around and speculate who might see Eric’s ghost that night. And each morning at breakfast we all told our non-stories and non-sightings, but the gist of it was none of us had any ghost encounters of any kind during our hotel stay.