It’s easy for Susan Hogan, museum educator for the Hawaii State Art Museum (HiSAM), to remember all the things that make Hawaii special. Her office is adjacent to HiSAM’s three galleries, where 232 paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, collages, textiles and sculptures from the state’s $28 million Art in Public Places collection (see sidebar) are displayed in an area totaling more than 12,000 square feet.

Exhibitions spotlight creations by Hawaii’s earliest internationally known artists, award-winning contemporary artists and emerging artists. "There are wonderful art galleries and museums throughout the state, but only HiSAM focuses on works that belong to the people of Hawaii," said Hogan, who arranges tours for dozens of school, corporate and community groups each year. "It brings the beauty of the Hawaiian environment indoors. My personal connections to the artworks evolve as I interact with visitors and hear their points of view on individual pieces. I have favorites in every gallery."

HiSAM opened on Nov. 1, 2002, as the principal venue to showcase selected pieces from the Art in Public Places program. It is housed on the second floor of No. 1 Capitol District, an elegant Spanish Mission-style structure built in 1928. The state acquired the property in 2000 and preserved its original floor tiles, cast stone detailing, iron grillwork, ornamental light fixtures and Italian scrollwork (which was modeled after the Davanzati Palace in Florence) in an extensive 18-month restoration project.

No. 1 Capitol District stands on the site of the first Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which opened in 1872 during the reign of King Kamehameha V. Located across from Iolani Palace, it was Honolulu’s premier hostelry for 45 years, accommodating foreign dignitaries and friends of the royal family.

In 1917 the YMCA purchased the building, which was used to house 25,000 Army and Navy servicemen during World War I. Nine years later the aging wooden structure was demolished to make way for the five-story concrete and stucco building that currently stands. Dubbed the USO Army and Navy Club, it included 268 sleeping rooms, a swimming pool, billiard hall, cafeteria, barbershop, gymnasium, auditorium and tailor and curio shops.

The facility was renamed the Armed Services YMCA in the early 1940s and served as an R&R hub for U.S. military personnel during World War II. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it was owned by the Hemmeter Corp. and the BIGI Corp. of Japan before the state purchased it for $22.5 million in 2000 to house HiSAM and various state offices.

"HiSAM is the steward of a wonderful public art collection in a very special place," Hogan said. "Kamaaina are proud of the contributions of local artists both in and beyond Hawaii. They can identify with the imagery and messages that are shared. Visitors enjoy glimpsing island life through different artists’ eyes. Art makes us think and feel. It connects what is deep, innate and personal in us to our community and the wider world around us."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won multiple Society of American Travel Writers awards.