Brick Palace

The Brick Palace was the first western-style structure built in the Hawaiian Islands for Kamehameha the Great to serve as the first Royal Palace. Lahaina became the seat of government for the Hawaiian Kingdom until 1845. The king commissioned the structure to be built at Keawa'iki point in Lahaina, Maui. Two foreign, ex-convicts from Australia's Botany Bay penal colony built the home. It was begun in 1798 and was completed after 4 years in 1802. The house was intended for Kamehameha's favorite and most powerful wife, Kaahumanu, but she refused to live in the structure and resided instead in a traditional Hawaiian-styled home only feet away. Kamehameha used the building as part of his encampment in 1802, with over 1000 people in his entourage. The encampment area surrounding the building became a neighborhood known for the chiefly line associated with Kamehameha. Food was grown for the royal family and the area called the "Royal Taro Patch" was connected with this structure. After the unsuccessful war on Kauai, Kamehameha moved his court to Honolulu.