At the Nuuanu Valley in the Island of Oahu is an old one-story home built in 1848 in a beautifully landscaped property. What is unique about it is that the structural frame of this home was cut in Boston, Massachusetts and it was shipped all the way to Hawaii. It was then assembled on a property purchased by John Lewis from the Hawaiian Government. Its design is typical of Greek Revival arhitecture.

When the home of Lewis was constructed there were six rooms and the roof over the front porch was supported by six elegant looking Greek Doric columns. These are columns which came into use in the 18th and 19th centuries, as in the Washington Monument in Baltimore (1815). Doric columns are slightly tapered towards the top and measures in height from about four to eight times the diameter at the floor. It has a shaft which is usually channelled with 20 shallow, sharp-edged flutes terminating elliptically at the top of the column.

Two years after the home was built it was sold to John Young II for $6,000. The new owner, who was the uncle of Hawaii's Queen Emma, called the place "Hanaiakamalama." Apparently, it was named after his ancestral home on the island of Hawaii. The home remained to be the property of Young until 1857 when he decided to give it to his niece, Queen Emma. The queen who already owned a number of homes, often used the "Hanaiakamalama" as a retreat in the summer. Here she hosted different activities, functions, and parties. It was a place where she and her family often stayed to get away from the rigors of court life in Honolulu and their numerous duties and responsibilities as members of Hawaii's Royalty.

Queen Emma spent many happy and memorable moments with her husband, King Kamehameha IV and their young son, Prince Albert Edward at the "Hanaiakamalama." The young prince was an instant and intimate part of the royal couple's private life and he was taken nearly everywhere they went. It is sad to note, however, that the little prince who rekindled the hopes of the Hawaiians for a successor to the throne, died in 1862 at the tender age of four. The young Prince of Hawaii left the King and the Queen, as well as the Hawaiian people in a state of intense despair and sorrow.

The Duke of Edinburgh was one of Queen Emma's prominent visitors at her home in Nuuanu. To prepare for the arrival of the Duke, the Queen added a large room in 1869 and appropriately called the Edinburgh Room. Queen Emma died in 1885 and after her death the Hawaiian Monarchial Government bought the "Hanaiakamalama." In the early 1900s there were plans to build a park with a baseball field where the home was located. The Daughters of Hawaii, an organization founded in 1903 to perpetuate and preserve the language, culture and historic sites of Hawaii, intervened and set about restoring Queen Emma's home.

The "Hanaiakamalama" is now known as the Queen Emma Summer Palace. In the early 1970s it was listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Today, this historic palace at 2913 Pali Highway is now a museum housing some of Queen Emma's personal possessions, as well as those of her husband, King Kamehameha IV and their son Prince Albert. There are also other Hawaiian artifacts and memorabilia from the royal families that are on display in this museum.

The Palace is now within a 2.16-acre property owned by the Queen Emma Estate. On its grounds are found a number of plants and trees that are native to Hawaii such as the "kukui" (candlenut tree) which is the state tree, the fragrant "laua'e" fern, the "ohi'a-lehua," the lacy type of fern called the "palapalai," and the "liko lehua." Also found are the camphor, mango, tamarind, and miulana trees which are imports to Hawaii. The museum is maintained with money earned from the dues of the members of the Daughters of Hawaii, fees paid for admission to the museum, sales from its gift shop, and other amounts collected from fundraising activities and donations. It is opened daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the entrance fee is $5.00.