Docomomo HI Tour Day: Bureaucrats & Brutalism

2024 Walking Tour: Bureaucrats & Brutalism - Honolulu’s Government District

Docomomo Hawaii’s Annual Walking Tour will put a local twist on the Docomomo US 2024 Tour Day theme of Corporate Campuses. Instead of surveying a "corporate" campus, we'll be walking through the "government" campus that is Honolulu's Government District. The tour will look at federal and state buildings, built between the 1950s and 70s, many with designs rooted in Brutalism. Our route will follow around Punchbowl, Queen, Mililani, and Halekauwila streets, with stops including the Prince Kuhio Federal Building, Princess Ruth Keelikoni Building, the Hawaii Department of Transportation Building, along with other Modernist buildings on the way. We'll be starting at “Restaurant Row” (Waterfront Plaza) with a presentation by architectural historian, Don Hibbard, walk our route through the district, and end at SALT Kaka'ako for refreshments at the Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room.

The tour promises to be a stimulating mix of familiar Mid-Century favorites and other often overlooked Brutalist designs.

Photo by John Hook via FLUX Hawaii

Host or Publisher Docomomo US-Hawaiʽi