Joseph Podmore Building in Honolulu

The Joseph W. Podmore Building is a historic building located in downtown Honolulu built with locally quarried lava stone. Built in 1902, this Romanesque-style, two story is named after an English sailor who did business in Honolulu during the early 1900’s. He built it to rent out for retail and office use, initially to a tailor and a decorator on the ground floor and to the Mercantile Printing Company upstairs.

The building is representative of a style of rusticated stone construction utilized for commercial buildings in Hawaii from 1894 to 1907. The Joseph W. Podmore Building is significant for its historical character and architectural features, construction methods, materials and its ownership and usage by individuals and groups of importance to Hawaii’s commercial and religious history. Moreover, it is one of approximately ten surviving cut-stone buildings which, by virtue of their use of native lava stone, are unique to Hawaii

The Joseph W. Podmore Building is located at the corner of Merchant and Alakea Streets in downtown Honolulu. It is located near the United States Post Office, Custom House, and Court House Building and Iolani Palace. The Podmore Building address is 202 Merchant Street.