Melchers Building facts for kids
The Melchers Building is a very old and important building in Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii. It's located at 51 Merchant Street and is known as the oldest commercial building in Honolulu. A commercial building is a place where businesses have their offices or shops.
Contents
Discovering the Melchers Building
What Does the Melchers Building Look Like?
The building was built in 1854. It was designed in a style called Classical Revival. This style often uses ideas from ancient Greek and Roman buildings. The building was made from white coral blocks. Today, you can't see the original coral because the outside has been covered with stucco and paint.
The Melchers Building is a simple structure. It has two floors and is not far from the ocean, about 400 feet away. It doesn't have many fancy decorations, which was common for commercial buildings in Honolulu during the 1800s.
What Was the Melchers Building Used For?
When it was first built, the Melchers Building was home to the offices of Gustav C. Melchers and Gustav Reiner. They were traders who came from a city in Germany called Bremen. A trader is someone who buys and sells goods.
Later, the building was used as an office for the City Prosecutor. This is a lawyer who works for the city. At one point, some of the windows on the Merchant Street side were covered with bricks. The main doorway was also blocked with an iron frame.
What Is the Melchers Building Used For Now?
Today, those bricked-up windows and the blocked doorway have been opened up again. The Melchers Building is now used as an extra office space by the City and County of Honolulu.
The building is also part of a special area called the Merchant Street Historic District. This means it's an important part of the history of that area.
