a day at the museum
Jun 20 
hisam's elegant facade
we had a bit of an adventure finding the hawaii state art museum on our trip home (which i find a tad ironic considering i walked past the building every saturday morning in my youth). the museum opened in 2002 in the former ymca (and prior to that was the original royal hawaiian hotel) and houses a wonderful collection of work by island artists.
the walls are filled with artwork (herb kawainui kane, jean charlot & madge tennant are just a few of the artists represented), photography of hawaii's past & present, sculptures, and some of the nicest benches to sit upon and ponder the art before you.
our time inside the gallery was a bit of a whirlwind since the parking meter was ticking away, but even with the time crunch we managed to find a photograph snapped by my mom's high school chum on display.
a few tips:
- admission is free (but donations are welcome)
- be sure to check out the events page before you go (especially if your little ones enjoy art making)
- save time cruising the streets for a spot for your car with the very helpful parking guide
as for downtown, the museum's spanking new café by the folks behind kaimuki's town, while my lunch companions were underwhelmed with their selections i was happy with my salad made of local, organic ingredients. the space is airy and filled with light and, of course, artwork making it a pleasant spot to meet friends for lunch or grab a bite before you wander through the galleries.
despite our uneven experience, i would give it a second try considering they had only been open a little over a week when we visited and still had a few details to iron out. and, worker bees looking for something new for lunch should check out downtown's weekday quick service asap menu which sounded, dare i say, even yummier than the sit down side. check out nadine kam's review for her take.
{photo credit, no.2 : hawaii state art museum}
{update | jan 2010: the museum may be reserved for private events and makes a lovely site for a romantic wedding!}
Reader Comments (4)
nice....never been inside, though. The building use to be a YMCA.
do stop by the next time you find yourself in town with some time to kill. it is a lovely museum and not to be missed!
Just wanted to say that I love your blog! It's refreshing to see the stylish side of Honolulu!
I've also heard mixed reviews of Downtown. We tried to make a reservation last week and no one ever answered the phone and we left a message but no one ever returned our call. I guess I'll give them another few weeks to iron out the kinks.
tiabla - yep, they were definitely understaffed when we had lunch there the other weekend.
we walked in a half hour before service ended on a saturday afternoon . . . no reservation required.
off peak dining = a very good thing!