Honolulu is the capital city of the US state of Hawaii. Eighteenth-century Honolulu was a focal point for merchant ships traveling between North America and Asia. In 1845, King Kamehameha III moved the permanent capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom to Honolulu. He and his successors transformed Honolulu into a modern capital and the commercial center of the Hawaiian Islands, erecting buildings such as St. Andrew’s Cathedral, ʻIolani Palace, and Aliʻiōlani Hale.