For over a century, Kalākaua Park has been Hilo’s Town Square. The sundial donated to the people of Ka Lani Kāwika Kalākaua (King David Kalakaua), who dedicated the area as a park about 1877, remains to this day. For decades, it was the timepiece by which others were set.
The history of Hawaiʻi can be found in this small park nestled in the heart of Hilo. Through the years, it has quietly watched Hawaiʻi transition from a chiefdom, to a monarchy, to a republic, to a territory, to a state.
Originally an undefined plot of land near the Wailuku River, one can imagine Hawaiian farmers from Hālaʻi stopping to rest there, and observing the beauty of the bay, before heading toward the river mouth to trade.
When Paiʻea Kamehameha was building his peleleu fleet for conquest, trees from the area were among those used in its construction, and foods grown there fed the work crews.
The first recorded Euro-American use of the area was for the first Christian Mission, Waiākea Mission Station – Hilo Station, in 1825. Under the influence of the New England missionaries, it evolved into a tropical version of a New England town square. By the late 1800s, the area was the site of Hilo’s first sheriff’s office, courthouse, and other civic buildings.
Kings and Queens visited the park, and local legend says that Kalākaua, himself, planted some of the trees.
After 1898, when Hawaiʻi became a territory of the United States, the US government needed a Federal office building in this second-largest city in the territory. The Federal Building was completed in 1917, and overlooks Kalākaua Park.
Opposite the Federal Building, the former police station (now the East Hawaiʻi Cultural Center), and the Hawaiian Telephone Company buildings overlook the park. Ma uka, or inland, of the park is Niolopa, the summer getaway for Hawaiian royalty. In the 20th century, it was redeveloped into the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel, which eventually succumbed to economic challenges.
In the 1930s, the park was re-dedicated in honor of the beloved king. Around that time, it also became the site of Hilo’s first Lei Day festival.
A beautiful pond and a marble monument honor those from Hawaiʻi Island who died in World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam.
A bronze statue, by Henry Bianchini, of Kalākaua in the middle of the park holds a taro leaf and ipu heke (gourd drum used in ancient-style chants). A time capsule was buried in 1991 during a total solar eclipse, to be opened in the next one to be visible from Hawaiʻi.
Shaded by a massive banyan tree, and other smaller trees, the park provides cooling respite from tropical heat, and a lovely lawn for picnicking.
Since its dedication, Kalākaua park has been the site of celebrations and other events, and continues to provide space on its gracious lawn for an impressive calendar of community events ranging from art markets to hula shows, martial arts demonstrations to drum concerts, and the annual Shakespeare in the Park presentation of the Hilo Community Players.
In 2021 the stonework terraces of the park were restored.
