63 Merchant Street
Opened: 1878
Architect: Thomas J. Baker
Style: Italian Renaissance Revival
The bank of Bishop & Co. was Hawaii's first bank, established by Charles Bishop in 1858. Bishop purchased the property in 1878, and commissioned Thomas J. Baker to replace the pre-existing coral building with a modern brick building that was covered with stucco.
The interior space expanded when the Bishop Estate Building was built in 1896. The shared wall between the Bishop & Co. Building and the Bishop Estate Building serves as an internal path between buildings. The stairs were removed from the Bishop & Co. Building, leaving the only stairway access in the Bishop Estate Building.
Also in 1896, the two buildings were deeded to Bishop Museum. The bank of Bishop & Co. moved to another location in 1925, and eventually changed its name to First Hawaiian Bank. The connected buildings served as rental office space. Law firm Bouslog and Symonds moved into the buildings in 1965, and remained there when both properties were sold to Ted James in 1979. Harriet Bouslog purchased both properties in 1980.
The building's facade went through many changes. Two of the entryway doors were closed off, leaving only one entrance on Merchant Street. The windows of the first floor were covered with plaster when the building was subdivided.
In 2010, the Bishop & Co. Building was renovated and the first floor windows were restored. The building is now known as the Harriet Bouslog Building, home to the offices of the Harriet Bouslog Labor Scholarship Fund and the Bouslog/Sawyer Charitable Trust.