Historic 1920's Honolulu estate-museum set on the slopes of Mt. Tantalus (+ slideshow)

The Contemporary Museum (TCM) is a museum within and around a historic Hawaii residence.  It is also the only museum in the State of Hawaii devoted exclusively to contemporary art.  Exhibitions and educational programs are presented at two venues:  main museum – utilizing the home and grounds of the historic Cooke-Spalding house in Makiki Heights and a smaller collection that is presented downtown at First Hawaiian Center, 999 Bishop Street.

A visit to TCM in Makiki Heights is definitely something that would appeal to anyone interested in:

Architecture – the beautiful Cooke-Spaulding house was built in 1925 but additions to the estate have maintained its original character. This is old Hawaii grandeur. 

Gardens – you will find an authentic Japanese garden, meditation garden, sculpture garden, stroll garden and more, all perfectly maintained for visitors' discovery and enjoyment.

Contemporary art – a collection which comprises nearly 3,000 works including paintings, sculpture, photographs, works on paper and fine crafts (ceramics, wood, glass, metal and fiber) spanning the period from 1945 to the present day are housed here. The collection contains major works by some of the most important artists of the period, including Josef Albers, Andy Warhol, Mark Tobey, Louise Nevelson, Jim Dine, David Hockney and others. The museum also has a collection of 26 boxes and collages by Joseph Cornell.

Light Lunch - if you time your visit (and you really should consider doing so), you can also enjoy a wonderful lunch or coffee and dessert at the very delightful Contemporary Café. This is where visitors can sit indoors in a gallery-like atmosphere amid changing displays of art or outdoors in a garden setting. Recently TCM started a new "Lauhala and Lunch" picnic service available through the Café. The lunch for two is packed in a picnic basket and complimentary lauhala mats are also available to use.  You just drop off the basket and mats at the front desk after your picnic is finished.

Unique gifts – no visit to any museum is complete unless there is some time for a stop at the museum shop.  Here, glass chicken bowls, desktop dartboards and heart-shaped water bottles are just a few of the one-of-a-kind gifts you'll discover.

Visitors are welcome to tour at their leisure but, TCM also offers docent-guided tours, programs and special events such at the upcoming ArtSpree on July 11.  One-Day Membership Passes are available for visitors: Adults $8; Seniors and Students $6.  For general information on hours of operation, collections, history, historic homes preservation, special events and more, visit http://www.tcmhi.org/mi.htm.

The Contemporary Museum at Makiki Heights is located at 2411 Makiki Heights Drive, in a quiet residential neighborhood on the slopes of Mount Tantalus in Honolulu. Free parking for a limited number of cars is available in the lot fronting the museum. Handicapped parking is also available. Visitors may also come to the museum on The Bus: #15 stops right in front of the museum.

Images courtesy of the Contemporary Museum (apologies if it takes s bit of time to load these beautiful images)