the courtyard's past
International Market Place: from a king's gift to a Waikiki market
The royal history and the 2016 rebuild behind the courtyard where Queens Waikiki Luau is staged.
Reserve Queens Waikiki Luau ↗A market's history
| Period | What happened |
|---|---|
| 19th century | King Lunalilo leaves the land to Queen Emma |
| 1956 | Donn Beach opens the original International Market Place |
| 2013 onward | Demolition and rebuild, the banyan tree preserved |
| 2016 | The rebuilt centre reopens |
Royal land
The site belonged to King Lunalilo, Hawaiʻi's first elected monarch, before he left it to Queen Emma; the marketplace still directs its revenue toward The Queen's Medical Center, which Emma and King Kamehameha IV founded.
Donn Beach and the original market
Showman Donn Beach opened the original International Market Place in 1956 as a gathering of shops, restaurants and nightclubs.
The banyan tree and its treehouse
A century-old banyan tree became the market's best-known landmark; Beach once worked from a treehouse built into its branches.
The rebuild
The centre was demolished and rebuilt starting in 2013, with preservationists making sure the banyan tree itself survived the construction.
Reopening in 2016
The rebuilt International Market Place reopened in 2016, keeping the old banyan tree as its centrepiece.
The market today
Today the open-air centre holds around 90 stores and restaurants across three floors, with the Queens Court — where the luau is staged — on the first level.