ISLAND EXCURSION
Free tours given down capitol way
Advertiser Staff
Spend Saturday downtown at A Capital Day Down Capitol Way, the 10th annual celebration featuring visits and tours of historic sites you've passed by dozens of times and wondered about. And it's all free.
• Hawai'i State Art Museum, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Hawai'i artists are in the spotlight in Honolulu's newest museum, in a historic Spanish mission-style building that was originally the Armed Services YMCA. The exhibit "Enriched by Diversity: The Art of Hawai'i" includes works by 284 Hawai'i artists. 586-0900.
The Hawai'i State Art Museum will be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday for free tours of its "Enriched by Diversity: The Art of Hawai'i" exhibit. The museum and other notable sites downtown can be visited for free Saturday as part of the A Capital Day Down Capitol Way celebration.
• Honolulu Academy of Arts, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday. Free admission to the museum Saturday and Sunday (courtesy of Bank of Hawaii). Note: This does not include admission to the special exhibit "Japan and Paris: Impressionism, Postimpressionism, and the Modern Era." The regular galleries house fine collections of Asian art outside of Asia. 532-8700. Parking is $3 for four hours (with validation) next to the Academy Arts Center at Linekona.
• Honolulu Hale (City Hall), 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: This architectural gem was built in 1928. Free parking is available at the civic center parking structure. 523-4674.
• Honolulu Police Department Museum, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.: Learn about the Police Department's royal beginnings and the real "Charlie Chan." 529-3351.
• Mission Houses Museum, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. It's a full day of activities in honor of National Historic Preservation Week and the exhibit "Lasting Impressions: Printing and Engraving in Hawai'i." 10 a.m.: The Hawai'i Youth Opera Chorus will sing a Hawaiian opera about a tutu and ghosts of Hawai'i. 12:30-3:30 p.m.: Print your own book with the help of artists from Honolulu Printmakers. Docents will give tours of the mission houses at 11 a.m.,1 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. 531-0481.
• St. Andrew's Cathedral, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: Docent-led tours include the Bell Tower, the kuono (sacred space) dedicated to King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma and the cathedral. Children are especially welcome. There's a short organ recital at noon, too. Tea and cookies will be served. 524-2822, ext. 251. Limited free parking.
• State Capitol, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Staffers will give out brochures and answer questions about the building. 586-0221.
• Washington Place, 10 a.m.-noon: Now a museum, it is the former home of Queen Lili'uokalani and the governors of Hawai'i. 586-0240. Free parking at both state Department of Health parking lots, at Punchbowl Street and Miller Street.
• YWCA on Richards Street, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.: Tour the architectural gem of Julia Morgan, who also designed San Simeon (Hearst Castle). 538-7061.
