Walker Park

700 Fort Street Mall
Opened: 1951

The triangular Walker Park, located at the intersection of Queen Street and Nimitz Highway, was once the site of the Honolulu Fort. Appropriately, Fort Street takes its name from the site.

In 1816, King Kamehameha allowed Russian fur traders to build a supply house fronting the harbor. When the king found out that the men were instead building a fort and had ill-intentions to take over the island, he had the men removed. The Russians fled to Kauai and continued to scheme, this time with the king of Kauai.

During this time, John Adam Kuakini reigned as governor. He rebuilt the walls of the fort to a height of 16 feet, with a width of 12 feet. The fort was made of coral from the harbor, shaped into bricks. The fort became known as Kekuanohu for its 52 cannons sticking out of the walls along the harbor, which resembled the spine of a scorpionfish.

The fort was demolished in 1857. The coral blocks were used for the foundation and retaining wall that extended the shore into the harbor. The additional land area totals about 15 acres.

The triangular park was created out of the widening of Queen Street and Nimitz Highway in 1951. At the time, Henry A. Walker Jr. was the president of the Amfac Financial Center just next door to the park. The park was named for Walker's contribution to the construction and beautification of the park.

Our Lady of Peace Cathedral

1183 Fort Street
Opened: 1840
Architect: F.J. Greenway (initial architect)
Style: Neoclassical, Gothic and Renaissance

By the time Catholic missionaries arrived from France in 1828, Honolulu was deeply influenced by the Protestant church. Upon their arrival, King Kamehameha II granted the Catholic missionaries a parcel of land to build a church. Shortly after the erection of the chapel, the Catholic missionaries were persecuted by the Protestants, and eventually expelled from the islands in 1831.

In 1839, King Kamehameha allowed the Catholic missionaries to return to the islands. A large stone church was planned to replace the smaller chapel. The Our Lady of Peace Cathedral was initially designed and built by F. J. Greenway in 1840. The cathedral was built of coral blocks covered with plaster. During construction, the church was lengthened by 30 feet.

Greenway's company went bankrupt before completing the building and construction ceased. The cathedral was finished by a Frenchman named Forest in 1843.

Since completion, the cathedral has gone through many renovations. The first change was the addition of the clock tower in 1852. The next year, a bell was installed. In 1866, a new larger, octagonal tower was built for a heavier bell.

The cathedral saw the largest interior renovation in 1871. Bishop Maigret had a vaulted ceiling installed, as well as balconies on either side for additional seating. The exterior was updated in 1929 with a cement finish to replace the deteriorating plaster. Major updates were made to the roof support in 1940, including steel trusses and concrete buttresses.

The Cathedral of the Our Lady of Peace is the oldest Roman Catholic Cathedral in continuous use in the United States.

Central Fire Station

104 Beretania Street
Opened: 1934
Architect: Charles William Dickey (architect) & John Young (engineer)
Style: Modernistic, Hawaiian Regional/Art Deco

The Central Fire Station was designed by Charles William Dickey in 1934. The new building marked a new era of development and modernization in the islands. Like many other buildings designed by Dickey, the massive fire station was made of concrete with a textured stucco. The large Art Deco aluminum doors were supplied by the California Artistic Metal and Wire Company in San Francisco. above the right bay is a tower with a copper hipped roof. Bands across the top of the building and tower are engraved with the same HFD crest as the doors.

In 1849, a one-story building was added to the back of the station. This was the only change made in the station’s history.

C. Brewer & Co Building

827 Fort Street
Opened: 1930
Architect: Hardie Phillips
Style: Territorial/Hawaiian Regional (Spanish and Mediterranean Revival)

C. Brewer & Co. was originally established by Captain James Hunnewell in 1826 as an international trade and shipping company under an unknown name. When Captain Charles Brewer became a partner in 1836, the company was in the whaling industry. After foreseeing the decline of whaling, the company turned to sugar trade and production in the 1850s. By 1925, the company represented 25% of Hawaii's sugar industry.

The C. Brewer & Co. Building, located at the end of Fort Street Mall on Queen Street, was designed by Hardie Phillips for Captain Charles Brewer in 1930. The structure stands at two stories tall with the same Territorial style and Spanish Revival influences as Honolulu Hale, the Academy of Arts, the Walter Murray Gibson Building, and more. The style is commonly known for its massive scale and concrete walls covered in a textured stucco.

The C. Brewer & Co. Building stands out from other buildings of this style with its open lanais, courtyard, and high privacy walls surrounding the property. The building is topped with a "Dickey" roof, a double-gable roof initiated by Charles Dickey, who wanted local architecture to have its own recognizable style.

C. Brewer & Co. expanded their agriculture production to macadamia nuts, coffee, and tropical juices. The company sold the property, relocated to Hilo in 1998, and eventually dissolved in 2006.

The University of Phoenix used C. Brewer & Co. Building for its administrative offices until the Hawaii Community Foundation became the new tenants in 2010.