Hawaii County is derived from “Havaki” or “Hawaki”, which according to legend was the name of the original homeland of the Polynesians.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Maui County and Pacific Ocean
S – Pacific Ocean
W – Pacific Ocean
Created: July 1, 1905
County Seat:
Hilo 1905 – present
County Courthouse – Hilo – Hale Kaulike
Location: 777 Kilauea Avenue / Aupuni Street
Built: 2007 – 2009
Style: Modern
Architect: Durrant Media Five Architects of Honolulu
Contractor: Swinerton Pacific of Wailuku, Maui.
Description: The building faces south and is a three story concrete and glass structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Hilo. The complex consists of a main, three-story structure with a basement floor and an adjoining one-story wing. In the center is an open courtyard. In the interior is artwork and seven general purpose courtrooms, two family courtrooms, a law library and a grand jury meeting room. The County District Court is located on the second story and the County Circuit Court and County Family Court are located on the third story. The building is named as Hale Kaulike (House of Justice). The building houses the County Circuit Court, County Family Court and County District Court of the Third Judicial Circuit.
Note: The complex is located on the Kaiko`o Mall parcel located across Aupuni Street from the Hilo State Office Building and the County of Hawaii’s Aupuni Center.
County Courthouse – Kailua-Kona – Keahuolu Courthouse
Location: 74-5451 Kamaka’eha Avenue / Mahala Boulevard
Built: 2016 – 2019
Style: Modern
Architect: AHL Architects of Honolulu
Contractor: Nan Construction Inc. of Honolulu
Description: The building faces southwest and is a three story structural steel frame, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds to the north of the center of Kailua-Kona. The building has reinforced concrete shear walls. The central southwest wing extends from the main building which has dark colored stone on the lower first story. The roof is sloped. In the interior are three County Circuit Court courtrooms, two County District Court courtrooms and two County Family Court courtrooms. The building is named as the Keahuolu Courthouse. The building houses the County Circuit Court, County Family Court and County District Court of the Third Judicial Circuit.
Note: The previously existing courts in Kona occupied adapted space in existing buildings originally designed to house different types of functions and were not conducive to efficient court operations. The cost of construction was $96,000,000.
History: The county was created in 1905 and Hilo was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1877. The second courthouse was constructed in 2007 to 2009. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 2016 to 2019.