Friday Fotos – Hawaii State Capitol columns represent royal palms

Architecture filled with symbolism

Like so many things in Hawaii, the architecture of the state capitol includes a great deal of symbolism. These columns, of which there are eight fronting each entrance of the building, were designed to resemble royal palms. To take the symbolism further, the eight columns represent the eight main islands. Those islands are Hawaii (Big Island), Kauai, Koho’olawe, Lānai, Maui, Moloka’i, Niihau, and O’ahu.

One thing I love about Hawaii is the use of imagery and symbolism in everything from the architecture (and representing royal palms with columns) to the music. I’ve long been fascinated by a land where are explained by supernatural events. Historically, there were four main Hawaiian gods, and the number four is used in many architectural elements of the building. You can learn more about the architecture of the building here. 

In the next McKenna Trouble in Paradise Mystery, I’m also making use of the number eight for the number of diamonds that are on a fictional bracelet that belonged to Queen Liliuokalani. The story dives into the history of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by the US in 1893.

Check out last week’s photo of the reflecting pools here. Want to see more photos from our trip? Here’s a link where you can check out all the entries in our travel journal.