Honolulu Museum of Art - Spalding House
Spalding House, Oahu
Located on a hill overlooking the city and the ocean in the Honolulu neighborhood of Makiki, the Spalding House (formerly known as The Contemporary Museum) is part of the Honolulu Museum of Art. The museum features six galleries of art and a permanent installation of David Hockney's L'Enfant et les sortilèges. In the museum café, visitors can sit indoors in a gallery-like atmosphere amid changing displays of art or outdoors in a garden-like setting.
Besides the exhibitions, the museum also maintains a sculpture garden, which encompasses 3.5 acres. The garden, called Nu'umealani (heavenly terrace), is so beautiful that the museum won the American Society of Landscape Architects Millennium Award for preserving and maintaining it.
The garden was completed between 1928 and 1941 by Reverend K.H. Inagaki, a local minister with a passion for landscape architecture. Designed to provide a place to retreat, meditate and experience the harmony of nature, the garden includes a sprawling lawn, a tropical terraced garden, walking paths and places to sit. It is open to the public during museum hours.
Hours:
Closed on Mondays, as well as New Year's Day (Jan 1), Independence Day (July 4), Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday of November) and Christmas (Dec 25).
Café hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm, Sunday from 12 pm to 2 pm
Admission:
Adults: $10
Age 17 and under: Free
Members: Free
Admission includes entry to the Honolulu Museum of Art on the same day.
Free days:
Spalding House Family Sundays: Third Sunday of the month, 11am-4pm (events end at 3pm)
First Wednesday of every month
July 31: Admission is free for Hawai‘i residents (with ID) in honor of La Ho‘iho‘i Ea (Restoration Day).
Spalding House Overview
- Features six galleries of art
- Spalding House Family Room features self-guided art activities, films and monthly storytelling sessions
- Part of the Honolulu Museum of Art
- Museum has a Café
- Another museum highlight is the sculpture garden
