Location
The museum is located at Fort DeRussy Beach Park area between Hale Koa Hotel on one side and OUTRIGGER Reef Waikiki Beach Resort on the other. The exact address is 2131 Kalia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815.
Getting there by bus
There is a bus stop #888 (Kalia rd + Saratoga rd) right in front of the museum servicing public buses 42, W1, W2, W3 and the hop-on hop-off Waikiki Trolley.
Hours of operation
Open:
- Tuesday — 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Wednesday — 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Thursday — 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Friday — 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Saturday — 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Closed:
- Federal holidays
- Sunday
- Monday
Parking
There is no dedicated public parking lot directly at the museum entrance. Visitors typically park in nearby public or hotel garages in the Waikiki area and walk to Fort DeRussy.
The closest parking options are the garages at Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort and nearby Waikiki hotels. Paid parking is also available at Waikiki Beach Walk, a shopping and restaurant complex located a short walk east of the museum.
Street parking in this part of Waikiki is limited. Many visitors reach the museum on foot while staying in nearby hotels or while walking through Fort DeRussy Park from the beach.
About
The museum provides context for the military history of Hawaii and the Pacific. Visitors learn how the islands became a strategic military location and how soldiers from Hawaii served in different conflicts.
The building itself is part of that history. The U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii occupies Battery Randolph, a reinforced concrete coastal defense structure built between 1909 and 1911. The battery was designed to protect Honolulu from naval attack and originally housed large coastal artillery guns. The structure later became a museum and opened to the public in 1976. Walking through the concrete rooms of Battery Randolph gives visitors a view of how coastal defense systems were built in the early 1900s.
A typical visit at the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii takes 30–60 minutes, making it a convenient activity near the west side of Waikiki. Many visitors stop there while walking through Fort DeRussy Park or before attending the Friday fireworks at the Hilton.
Exhibitions
The exhibits present military history connected to Hawaii and the Pacific region.
- Ancient Hawaiian warfare – Displays explain weapons and tactics used by Hawaiian warriors before Western contact.
- World War II – Sections explain Hawaii’s role in the Pacific War and the military buildup after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- Korean War and Vietnam War – Displays document the service of soldiers from Hawaii and the Pacific theater.
- Gallery of Heroes – A memorial gallery honors individuals from Hawaii who received the Medal of Honor and other decorations.
- Outside the museum visitors can see artillery pieces, armored vehicles, and a helicopter displayed on the grounds.
