The Hulihe'e Palace, completed in 1838, was built to accommodate the royalty of Hawaii. Built by foreign workers and passing seamen in Kailua (Kona), the palace is decorated with hundreds of unique paintings, tapa cloths, pottery, and gold crusted artifacts. Predominantly used as a summer residence for governors and the royalty, Hulihe'e Palace is a two-story luxurious summer home, complete with six spacious rooms and two ocean-facing lanais, indicating that Hawaiians were greatly influenced by the American and British style of architecture. Today, the Palace stands in its original place, with many of the original structures and artifacts still intact. It operates as a museum, attracting many visitors each year.
In 2010, CyArk conducted the field research for the digital preservation of three culturally significant Hawaiian sites, known as wahi pana ("places of significant meaning" in Hawaiian). These three sites were Hulihe'e Palace (the summer residence of the Hawaiian royal family), Ahu'ena Heiau (Kamehameha the Great's personal temple), and portions of the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park ("Place of Refuge" which served as a sanctuary to those fleeing capture or punishment). With this digital reconstruction, CyArk hopes to forward its mission by providing the public with a glimpse of often overlooked Hawaiian heritage sites and highlighting the need for cultural resource preservation throughout the state.
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