Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, governmental, and central part of Honolulu

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

—bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor

Honolulu Harbor

Honolulu Harbor, also called Kulolia and Ke Awa O Kou, is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii in the United States. It is from Honolulu Harbor, located on Mamala Bay, that the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized, in an outward fashion, over the course of the...

 to the south—situated within the larger Honolulu District. Both modern and historic buildings and complexes, many of the latter declared National Historic Landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

, are located in the area, 21°18′12"N 157°51′26"W.

Districts

Downtown Honolulu can be subdivided into four neighborhoods, each with its own central focus and mix of buildings. These areas are the Capitol District, the Central Business District, Chinatown, and the Waterfront.

Capitol District

The Capitol District, or Civic Center, contains most of the federal, state, and city governmental buildings and is centered on the Hawaii State Capitol

Hawaii State Capitol

The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state...

, Iolani Palace, and Honolulu Hale

Honolulu Hale

Honolulu Hale , located on 530 South King Street in downtown Honolulu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of the Mayor of Honolulu and the Honolulu City Council.In the Hawaiian language, hale means house or building...

 (city hall

City hall

In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...

). It is roughly bounded by Richards Street on the west, Ward Avenue on the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Nimitz Highway to the south. Significant buildings in this area include:

• Old Advertiser Building
  Honolulu Advertiser
  The Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions...
  
  
• Aliiōlani Hale
  Aliiolani Hale
  Aliiōlani Hale is a building located in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii, currently used as the home of the Hawaii State Supreme Court. It is the former seat of government of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii....
  
  
• Bishop Estate Building
• Frank F. Fasi Municipal Building
• Hawaii State Capitol
  Hawaii State Capitol
  The Hawaii State Capitol is the official statehouse or capitol building of Hawaii in the United States. From its chambers, the executive and legislative branches perform the duties involved in governing the state...
  
  
• Hawaii State Library
  Hawaii State Library
  The Hawaii State Library is a historic building in the City & County of Honolulu that serves as the seat of the Hawaii State Public Library System, the only statewide library system and one of the largest in the United States. The Hawaii State Library building is located in downtown Honolulu...
  
  
• Honolulu Fire Headquarters
• Honolulu Hale
  Honolulu Hale
  Honolulu Hale , located on 530 South King Street in downtown Honolulu in the City & County of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the official seat of government of the city and county, site of the chambers of the Mayor of Honolulu and the Honolulu City Council.In the Hawaiian language, hale means house or building...
  
  
• Honolulu Police Station
• Iolani Barracks
• Iolani Palace
• Kakaako Fire Station
• Kamehameha V Post Office
  Kamehameha V Post Office
  Kamehameha V Post Office at the corner of Merchant and Bethel Streets in Honolulu, Hawaii was the first building in the Hawaiian Islands to be constructed entirely of precast concrete blocks reinforced with iron bars. It was built by J.G. Osborne in 1871 and the success of this new method was...
  
  
• Kawaiahao Church
• Leiopapa a Kamehameha Building
• Mission Memorial Building
• The Pacific Club
  The Pacific Club
  The Pacific Club is a historic social club in Honolulu, Hawaii.-History:William Lowthian Green founded the club in 1851 and was its first president. It was originally called "The Mess", and then called "The British Club" since many of its members were former British residents. In 1892 it was...
  
  
• Prince Kūhiō Kalanianaole Federal Building
  Prince Kuhio Federal Building
  The Prince Kūhiō Federal Building, formally the Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaole Federal Building and United States Courthouse, is the official seat of the United States federal government and its local branches of various agencies and departments in the state of Hawaii...
  
  
• Territorial Building
  Territorial Building
  The Territorial Building is a government building of the Territory of Hawaii.-Description:The building is located at 425 South King Street in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii....
  
  
• Washington Place
  Washington Place
  Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the Governor of Hawaii. It is a National Historic Landmark,...
  
  

Central Business District

Centered on Bishop Street and Fort Street Mall, the central business district is roughly bounded by Nuuanu Avenue, Nimitz Highway, Richards Street, and Vineyard Boulevard. This area contains most of the headquarters buildings of Hawaii-based companies and most of the skyscrapers. Buildings in this area include:

• 1100 Alakea Street
• 1132 Bishop Street
• Alexander & Baldwin Building
• Ali'i Place
• American Savings Building
• Armstrong Building
• Army and Navy YMCA
• Bishop Bank Building
  Merchant Street Historic District
  The Merchant Street Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii, was the city's earliest commercial center.-Location:Bounded roughly by Fort Street at the southeast end and Nuuanu Avenue at the northwest, its older, low-rise, brick and stone buildings, surrounded by contemporary, concrete high rises,...
  
  
• Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew
  Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, Honolulu
  The Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew, also commonly known as St. Andrew's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States located in the State of Hawaii...
  
  
• Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
  Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace
  The Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace — also known by its original French name Cathédrale de Notre Dame de la Paix, its Portuguese variant Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Paz and its Hawaiian derivative Malia o ka Malu Hale Pule Nui — is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Honolulu and houses...
  
  
• C. Brewer Building
  C. Brewer Building
  The C. Brewer Building at 827 Fort Street in Honolulu, Hawaii was built in 1930 to be the headquarters of C. Brewer & Co., the smallest of Hawaii's Big Five corporations. The intimate, almost residential design was begun by Bertram Goodhue and completed by Hardie Phillip...
  
  
• Central Fire Station
• Dillingham Transportation Building
• First Hawaiian Center
  First Hawaiian Center
  First Hawaiian Center is the tallest building in Hawaii.-Description:Located at 999 Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu near Bishop Park, the First Hawaiian Center is the world corporate headquarters of First Hawaiian Bank, Hawaii's oldest bank and multi-billion dollar company established by Charles...
  
  
• Fort Street Mall
• Hawaii Pacific University
  Hawaii Pacific University
  Hawaii Pacific University, also known as HPU, is a private, Nonsectarian, coeducational university located in Honolulu, Hawaii and Kaneohe, Hawaii. HPU founded in 1965 as Hawaii Pacific College by Paul C.T. Loo, Eureka Forbes, Elizabeth W...
  
  
• Hawaiian Electric Building
• Hawaiian Telcom Building
• Judd Building
• Central Middle School (Honolulu, Hawaii)
• McCandless Building
• Melchers Building
  Melchers Building
  The Melchers Building at 51 Merchant Street is the oldest commercial building in Downtown Honolulu. Designed in the Classical Revival style by an unknown architect, it was constructed in 1854 of white coral blocks....
  
  
• Oahu Railway and Land Terminal
• Oceanit Center
• Royal Brewery
• Stangenwald Building
  Stangenwald Building
  The Stangenwald Building at 119 Merchant Street, in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii was the city's first high-rise office building, with its own law library, and one of the earliest electric elevators in the Territory when it was built in 1901...
  
  
• Theo H. Davies Building
• TOPA Financial Tower
• Yokohama Specie Bank
  Yokohama Specie Bank
  is a Japanese bank founded in Yokohama, Japan in the year 1880. It later became The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. in 1947. The bank played a significant role in Japanese trade with China...
  
  
• YWCA Building
  YWCA Building (Honolulu, Hawaii)
  The YWCA Building at 1040 Richards Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, popularly called the Richards Street Y, is now officially named Laniākea, which means 'open skies' or 'wide horizons' in the Hawaiian language. It was designed by San Francisco architect Julia Morgan, who considered it one of her favorites...
  
  

Chinatown

Located between Nuuanu Stream and Nuuanu Avenue, Chinatown at one time was the center of Chinese cultural contact on the island. Central to this area is the open-air Oahu Market. The area around Nuuanu Avenue has become an ‎

Arts District (Honolulu)

The Arts District is a neighborhood in Honolulu located west of downtown Honolulu's Hawaii Capital Historic District and on the eastern edge of Chinatown...

, thanks to the renovation of the Hawaii Theatre

Hawaii Theatre

The Hawaii Theatre is a historic Vaudeville theatre and cinema in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. It is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places....

. Buildings in this area include:

• Hawaii Theatre
  Hawaii Theatre
  The Hawaii Theatre is a historic Vaudeville theatre and cinema in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. It is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places....
  
  
• Lum Yip Kee Building
• Nippu Jiji Building
• Oahu Market
• Wo Fat Building

Waterfront

Honolulu's waterfront area centers on Aloha Tower

Aloha Tower

The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor. It has and continues to be a guiding beacon welcoming vessels to the City and County of Honolulu...

, which was once the tallest building in Hawaii and where cruise ships would dock before the advent of air travel between Hawaii and the U.S. Mainland. Recently, cruise ships between the Hawaiian Islands now dock at Honolulu Harbor. Buildings in this area include:

• Aloha Tower
  Aloha Tower
  The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbor. It has and continues to be a guiding beacon welcoming vessels to the City and County of Honolulu...
  
  
• Falls of Clyde
• Hawaii Maritime Center
  Hawaii Maritime Center
  The Hawai`i Maritime Center was the principal maritime museum in the State of Hawai`i from 1988 until it closed in 2009. Located at Pier 7 of Honolulu Harbor east of Aloha Tower, the center was a campus of the Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum...
  
  
• Honolulu Foreign Trade Zone
  Foreign trade zone
  A foreign-trade zone in the United States is a geographical area, in United States Ports of Entry Ports of Entry, where commercial merchandise, both domestic and foreign receives the same Customs treatment it would if it were outside the commerce of the United States...
  
  

Government and infrastructure

The Honolulu Police Department

Honolulu Police Department

The Honolulu Police Department is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP....

 operates the Alapai Police Headquarters and the Downtown Police Station in Downtown Honolulu.

The United States Postal Service

United States Postal Service

The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...

operates the Downtown Honolulu Post Office at 335 Merchant Street.