Mission Houses Museum, History museum in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.
The Mission Houses Museum occupies three buildings on the site: the Oldest Frame House (Ka Hale Lāʻau), whose pre-cut timber frame arrived from Boston around Cape Horn in 1821; the Chamberlain House (Ka Hale Kamalani), built in 1831 of coral blocks cut from offshore reefs with lumber salvaged from ships; and the coral Print House (Ka Hale Paʻi), added in 1841. The Chamberlain House, with two storeys, an attic and a cellar, now serves as the main exhibition hall.
The three buildings were constructed starting in 1820 for the first American Protestant missionaries who settled on the islands. They served for decades as homes and offices for this community.
The Print House (Ka Hale Paʻi) shows how missionaries and Native Hawaiians worked together to produce the first materials printed in the Hawaiian language. The site also keeps a replica of Dr. Gerrit Judd's 1830s medical clinic with original furniture, and the Kahua Hoʻokipa outdoor stage, built from coral blocks salvaged from Hawaii's first courthouse of 1852, hosts programmes on historic cultural activities.
The site sits on King Street in downtown Honolulu, next to Kawaiahaʻo Church, which shares its 1962 National Historic Landmark designation. The three houses stand close together around a small grounds with the Kahua Hoʻokipa outdoor stage, built from coral blocks salvaged from Hawaii's first courthouse of 1852. Allow time to move between the Frame House, Chamberlain House and Print House.
The oldest surviving wooden structure on the islands stands here and dates from 1821. This Frame House is a rare example of early construction methods used in Hawaii.
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