Returning to a 19th-century tradition, hundreds of red, green and white Japanese lanterns now light the night at 'Iolani Palace in the Victorian style favored by King Kalakaua.

'Iolani Palace curator Stuart Ching said the "new" old look for the holiday season was made possible with the help of a private donation from a woman who wanted to remain anonymous but at the same time honor her sister, Bette Keller, who lives in Bellingham, Wash.

"This is a historic re-creation," Ching said. "It's how the king decorated the palace for special occasions."

In previous years, the palace had been decorated with white lanterns.

The colorful lanterns in various shapes and sizes were a favorite of Kalakaua, an innovator who quickly adopted inventions that he thought worthwhile.

"In 1887, he had this building completely rewired for electricity," he said, which meant the palace had electric power before either the White House or Buckingham Palace.

The palace also had the "modern" conveniences of indoor plumbing with hot and cold running water, as well as a telephone.

In describing a ball given in honor of the Prince and Princess Henri de Bourbon of Austria on Oct. 23, 1889, the Pacific Commercial Advertiser (predecessor to this newspaper) waxed poetic about the enchantment of the lanterns:

"Never before has this beautiful edifice been so brilliantly or tastily decorated. It looked like an enchanted abode of the fairies, and was the admiration of crowds of people who spent the evening gazing at the scene from a distance."

Ching did some research on the lanterns and their history and found 19th-century Bishop Museum photos of the palace bedecked with the festive lights.

The anonymous $3,000 donation meant that crews could decorate the front of the palace and some of the side but not put up as many strings as the Merrie Monarch himself preferred, Ching said.

"If we had more money, we could do all the sides of the palace and perhaps even some of the trees, and that would be even more historically correct," he said.

The palace arranged to get the new lanterns in time for the Dec. 3 opening festivities of this year's Honolulu City Lights display.

Ching said the white lanterns used in recent years had deteriorated and needed to be replaced.

An informal survey of people walking the palace grounds this week found that they liked the lanterns, bright colors and all.

Joy Bounds, who has worked for state Rep. Lynn Finnegan for three years at the Capitol, parks near the palace. She said she likes the more colorful look.

"I think it's festive," Bounds said. "I appreciate it being different."

Longtime friends Charlotte Trotter, of Koko Head, and Yvonne Johns, of Maunalani Heights, make a date to walk through the City Lights each year and both said they like the change.

"I think they look very nice," Trotter said.

Johns said she had a chance to see the grounds during the day before returning at night. "I noticed them when they weren't lit," she said.

Ching said he had a hard time finding weather-resistant lanterns, but got some help from Hakubundo president David Morishige, who located them in Japan and gave the palace a big break on the air-shipping cost.

Ching said the lanterns will remain up as long as the City Lights display and then be stored so they can be used again for years.

He said the monarchs of the Victorian era enjoyed bright colors and "had a fascination with the East," which explains why a Hawaiian palace stands once again bedecked with Japanese lanterns.

"We wanted to bring the palace back to that 19th-century aesthetic," he said.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.