Lihiwai

Honolulu, United States

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Heritage registerNational Register of Historic Places↗

Lihiwai was the residence of Territorial Governor George R. Carter in Honolulu, designed by architects Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and Hardie Phillip and built between 1927 and 1929. The sprawling 40-room mansion exemplifies the Mediterranean Revival and Mission Revival styles that flourished in the Western states during the 1920s. The house reflects the influence of Carter's wife, Helen Strong Carter—an heiress to the Eastman Kodak fortune—particularly in its unusually spacious ladies' powder room. Beyond the main residence, the complex includes servants' quarters with distinctively lower 9-foot ceilings, along with specialized rooms for flower arranging and luggage storage, all connected by elevator, grand staircase, and servants' staircase. The estate originally encompassed 10 acres and employed 45 servants, including 10 household staff and 35 groundskeepers. The Carters occupied the house from 1930 until the governor's death in 1933 and Mrs. Carter's in 1946; during World War II, the house served military personnel on leave. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Lihiwai stands as a testament to territorial-era grandeur and the architectural vision of one of America's most prominent twentieth-century architects.