Prince Kuhio Federal Building

FYI, federal building only do expedited passport. Came here for baby passport. Parked at street. People at passport place was nice. Since our travel is next year and I don’t want to pay extra charge for expedited service, we went to State library.

Amazing building. I make a special trip to visit this gem whenever I am in Hawaii. The building management staff was very responsive and friendly. It appears to be a well run and efficient building. The cafeteria food was impressive and the quantities were ample. Way to go PJKK.

I would have given more stars if it had been easier to get a hold of this office. My phone number is an East Coast number. So when I call the 800 number for the Social Security office, it was 1 o’clock in the afternoon Hawaii time. On the East Coast to the Social Security office was already closed and there was no way to get a hold of a local office from my phone. Since I don’t have access at my home to a local number, I was out of luck to get a hold of the Social Security office. I looked around until after 2 o’clock for a local number, but there isn’t one published anywhere that I could find. I called my husband to have him call from his local office land line, after talking to two different people at local Social Security office, someone gave him a number for me to call. It turns out it was a wrong number by the time I realize that and tried to get a correct number was five minutes before the office closed. My advice is to call early in the day and report anybody who’s rude. If I didn’t have to deal with this office I would never deal with this office.

I recently got married in March and changed my last name. As a result, I needed to update my name change with the Social Security Administration, so I went to the office in the Prince Kuhio Federal Building on March 27^th. For name changes, the SSA offers an «expedited» service where you complete your application, attach your marriage certificate, seal them in an envelope, and leave them in the drop box. The SSA promises that your marriage certificate will be returned within a week, and your new social security card should arrive within 3 weeks.
Well, it is 4 weeks later and I have yet to receive my marriage certificate back, nor have I received my new social security card. In an attempt to contact this office, the only number available sends me to the main SSA call center, which informed me that my name change was processed on the 6^th of April and my new card would have already arrived. He said that if I had not received it, I must not have used the correct address. Considering my handwriting is quite nice and I’m not a complete idiot, I know the address was written legibly and correctly, so this could not be the issue. More likely, a clerk at the SSA office in Honolulu inputted the incorrect address. So, I ask the man how I can go about having this corrected. My only course of action, he says, is to head down to the office and spend my day in line to get the address corrected. Can I make an appointment, you ask? NOPE. According to him, my issue is not worthy of an appointment.
It looks like tomorrow I will be heading down to the SSA office to spend my day in line fixing an issue that should never have happened to begin with. I guess I have learned my lesson to skip the «expedited» route and get it done correctly the first time.

Its been years I’ve step foot here @ the Prince Kuhio Federal Building.
I think close to 20 years ago.
Wow! this place has really changed.
(I remember being able to park in their parking lot & did not need to go thru security checkpoints, like TSA)
Thankful Good Friday was not a federal holiday,
I was able to get what I needed in less than 15 mins.!!
&
Thankful Good Friday was a state holiday,(I didn’t have to feed the meter)
I found parking right across the Federal building. Yay!
When I got there, I was a little confused on where the entrance was.
Luckily a security guard, guide me in the right direction.
Entrance around the corner, (Halekawila street side)
Be careful for the glass door, I almost walked thru it.
(clumsy me)
As you enter, there will be a security checkpoint just like TSA.
You will need to show your ID to the security.
I had to remove my 2 bracelets I had, since it beeped when I went thru it.
As the security guard said, I had too many blings blings. (LOL)
Strange that the same bracelet I wore to the mainland didn’t beep.
I had to get a transcript for my daughter’s admission to college.
I didn’t know there was such a thing as a tax transcript.
(Learned something new)
I tried to request for the transcript on line, but I had no luck.
When I got to the office, I was even more thankful,
I was the only one there.
The guy asked me to get a number,
I had to put in my info. reason for visit & then a computer generated ticket pops out with my number which is lucky #857.
He called my # right after, showed him my id, & minute later,
I got my transcript.
free of charge. What! more thankful!
(I was expecting to pay)
He suggest for nexts visit, call to schedule an appointment or go on-​line.
I’m glad I got the transcript part taken care of today.

Did you know… they shortened the name of this Federal Building? It was once named «Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’olé Federal Building and United States Federal Courthouse». Geez, what a mouthful to say as well as trying to put that site into your GPS! It was named after Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana’olé who was heir to the throne of the overthrown Kingdom of Hawaii, a Republican territorial delegate to the United States Congress between 1903 and 1922.
This building is the official seat of the Federal Government and its local branches of agencies and departments in the state of Hawaii. It sits on land that was once known as U.S. Army Fort Armstrong along Ala Moana Boulevard. Across Ala Moana Boulevard is the Aloha Tower and Honolulu Harbor. Its over 925,000 sq ft footprint house the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District (Honolulu), the offices of Hawaii’s U.S. Senators, the offices of Hawaii’s U.S. Representatives for the 1^st and 2^nd congressional districts, and the branch offices of the United States Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security, Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service, to name a few.
The Prince Kuhio Federal Building was constructed to replace the aging Federal Court, Customs House and U.S. Postal Service building fronting ‘Iolani Palace. It was completed in 1977 amidst controversy between Hawaii State Statutes and the Government Services Administration (GSA) designs. The 10-​story high building defied the State Statute that no building be built taller than the Hawaii State Capitol between the foothill of Punchbowl to the shoreline. It is in shoreline view path of the Hawaii State Capitol. The complex includes 10 stories of office spaces with an enclosed bridge connecting to a six-​story courthouse building.
Our Federal Building has undergone and is still undergoing major renovations in accordance to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It has been selected/​cited as an efficient building by the Energy Star program.
The customer service is great in this building… I’ve gone into their IRS, Social Security and Passport Offices. Of course, since 9/​11, security has been stepped up but it isn’t too much of a hassle as long as you have proper identification on you and just go with the «flow» as through TSA at airports. If you have business to attend to in this building, allow yourself time to find parking (VERY Limited or street) AND time to get to the agency or office that you’re going to. It’s quite easy to get «lost» in this building so it’s a good idea to remember the direction from where you entered!

Customer service prevails at this federal building. From the security guards to the woman behind the counter (Tolua) at the passport office my experience was extremely positive. They really debunked the whole idea that government employees are rude and not willing to go out of their way. Super impressed with everyone we encountered today!

This building is huge and has no parking structure. But it’s downtown so there’s lots of street parking or you can go right across the street to restaurant row and validate parking at any open business.
Story is I found out my license expired and lost my social security card (lucky me!) I knew I’d have a bit of a hassle renewing/​replacing everything but it actually wasn’t too bad. When I got to the federal building, i had to check in tsa style. Be sure to have a form of ID available (I had to show both my license and birth certificate since my license is expired). The social security office is on that first floor near a snack shop. I got there around 750 am, checked in at 820 and they started calling ticket numbers at 830. They have a really efficient system so there wasn’t a long wait and the guard said there weren’t too many people today.
Based on what the guard said, try to get there as early as possible, but just know that they don’t start checking anyone in until 820am. If you have an appointment of course you’ll be serviced first but the woman I spoke to said the first available appointments are in May (it’s April 28^th today) so it might be easier and quicker to just walk-​in.
Anyways, everyone was pretty helpful including the guards around the building. They’re very knowledgable about where everything is so as long as you know why you’re there, someone should be able to help :)

The building wasn’t so hard to find, google maps took me right to it. My best advice for anyone is to come first thing in the morning. There is only street parking but I did find a parking garage called Makai parking garage and it’s only $ 1 per hour and it’s across the street from the side entrance that faces Ala Moana Street. I came in for social security around 0815 and there was not much of a line. By the time I checked in and seen I was out of there by 0845. I only have it 4 stars bc of parking other than that great customer service!

12.4.13.
One of the most confusing buildings ever! FYI, there are two entrances; one from Punchbowl and the other is more towards Ala Moana Boulevard. Both entrances require you to go through a security cehckpoint; yes, your bag will be scanned TSA-​style and make sure you bring some sort of official identification (e.g., State ID, license, etc.)
Since there are two entrances, there are also two sets of elevators… if you need to access specific classrooms on floors 7&8 (not sure if there are more), check with the security guard. Floor 7 used to be occupied by the FBI, so they blocked off access to one side of that floor… can you imagine me freaking out when I couldn’t find the room I needed to go to… come to find out, I needed to go to the Ala Moana Boulevard side elevators to access those… so just check with the guards if it’s your first time here.
Parking wise… I believe the building has some sort of parking system… there is always street, or if you can I would suggest just being dropped off.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: #337/​365

The Prince Kuhio Federal Building has slowly increased its security since ⁹⁄₁₁ and now has airport-​like security. There are metal detectors at every entrance which of course is good but it’s very strict. I was even asked to remove my belt and eyeglasses to go through security. The worst part about the security measures is that now there is absolutely no parking at the Federal Building. Not even a few handicap stalls for those that need it.
Today my mom had to visit the Social Security office so I had to drop her off close the bus stop on Punchbowl Street and then go park across the street at the municipal parking for the courthouse. Once inside it’s quite a hike to the Social Security office. By the time I parked and returned to meet my mom at the Social Security office, I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was already being helped. I really expected very long wait without an appointment. The customer service agent at the Social Security office was extremely patient an and very helpful and was able to print out virtually all the information she needed in a few minutes.
In conclusion, my two star rating for the Prince Kuhio Federal Building is for the lack of accessibility such as a designated drop off area and no handicap parking but surprisingly great customer service from the hard working & knowledgeable staff at the Social Security office.

went in to get my legal name changed on my social security card. The security officers at the front of the building were friendly, efficient, and polite. Once in the SS office, the security guard was happy, helpful, and efficient. I got there at 9am on a Friday morning, and was out by 10am — I was prepared for a wait as I had no appointment, and this was much better than I expected. All interactions were friendly, cheerful, and efficient — I don’t think we can ask for anything more from a bureaucratic agency! Very pleasantly surprised!

It is a pain to go here… no parking in the building. I guess because of security… so you have to park over at the State parking lot near the Department of Transportation.
Be sure to have a picture ID… I was fortunate to enter from Punchbowl, but if you dont’ have a photo ID, you have to go around to the other side of the building.
Good signage in the building, but dang! it is a big place. Security folks were nice so that made it easier…

I recently got married & needed a new Social Security card with my new last name. Street parking on Punchbowl is available at 0740 but sadly, I forgot to bring change. I parked at Restaurant Row and walked across. Got there at 0745 & was the 10^th person in line. 10 minutes later the line had doubled so do get there early. There are benches to sit on so you aren’t standing for what will feel like forever. At 0820 they start checking people without appointments. If you have an appointment, you get checked in first but no one gets called to the windows until 0830. I was done at 0845 (the process was super simple with the proper paperwork) & waited for Hokulani to open (0900) so I could get my parking ticket validated & voila! I didn’t have to pay for parking & went home with a sweet $ 2.50 cupcake instead of getting no cupcake & paying $ 6-​$ 9 for parking (I think it’s $ 3 per 30 minutes).

Bad boys! Whatcha gonna doooo when sherrif John Brown come for you. That’s what I envision when I walk past the courtroom side loaded with sherrifs or take off my belt and hold my pants up walking through the metal detector. This building is so not meant to be visitor friendly. And that’s good. If you don’t need to be there they don’t want you there. You need tax forms from the IRS fine, you need SSN card fine, you need to use the bathroom you gotta take five extra steps just to get in the building so you give up and go to Restaurant Row. This place is so visitor unfriendly you can’t even park in the parking lot. I remember back you could park in the lot and eat lunch in the cafeteria just for the hell of it. Don’t come here if you don’t need to be here. That’s good. Just get your stuff and beat it! CHEE! Prince Kuhiō Building review on Prince Kuhiō Day!

this is the place where you go to get your social security changed/​renewed etc.
**expect 45 – 1 hour wait*** I suggest you come early and on your day off

I have to give the Social Security Office 3 stars. I will say there is no such thing as parking — but I can’t directly blame the Social Security Office for that — cause anyone in the Federal Building is gonna suffer.
I will say that I could not have had a more patient and understanding clerk. I took my mother in to get a replacement SS card only to find out that all this time she has had a first name that was never legal. Meaning not on her birth certificate! Long story and nothing as thrilling as being a law breaker — but needless to say — it prevented her from renewing her drivers license. Thus the need for a new Social Security Card.
The lady at the window could have just said we were out of luck the office was closing but she waited and researched why my moms records were so messed up and figured out how to fix it — we have to do a little more leg work to get it all done — but at least we now have an answer.

Two stars off for no damn parking. Seriously? Ridiculous. Parked at Restaurant Row and just walked over. Painless enough, but only because I had read other reviews before going so I knew what to do. Otherwise, I could have been circling and wasting time, scratching my head at all the parking lots I see but no public parking!
You need to pass a security check to get in. Also, you need to show an ID!
I parked around 8am, got to the SS office line at 8:15. There were about 30 people there already, and the doors opened promptly at 8:30. They organized it pretty well though, asking what your visit was for, and giving you a corresponding ticket.
I was there to change my name on my social security card, and I ended up only being 4^th in line for that service. So I was actually at the service desk by 8:45am, and out the door by 8:55am. I didn’t get out of the parking lot at Restaurant Row fast enough, so I had to pay for an extra ½ hour for being a couple minutes over an hour. I ended up paying $ 9 ($ 3/​30min) total. Meh.

How can I give this place a good rating? No parking here. People are extremely rude here and you wait hours to get interviewed and told you will get a piece of paper in two weeks.
If you do come here make sure you find street parking on the sides because they have no parking in front. Also when you enter you have to take off your belt, empty your pockets, show your id and get your bag x rayed.
Places like this make me wish I lived back on the mainland so Id have more choices of federal buildings to go to.

Had to go in today to get a new SS Card. Arrived at 7:15am but was told there was no parking for handicaps. Had to park at Restaurant Row, if I had known this I would have used my grandfather’s wheel chair. Definitely writing my Congress people and calling their office next week. Now I am currently sitting here at 7:45am (atleast I am the 2^nd person in line) waiting for them to open at 8:30am. Suggestion: place forms outside so that we can fill it in while waiting.
Parking Wise: What parking! If you don’t allow people to park here, especially disabled people, please be familiar with the parking nearby to assist the taxpayers that pay for your J-​O-​B!
Service: The security operating the metal detector was pleasant. They even told us the directions to the office before we could ask.
Overall: We will see how our local Congress people respond! If not I am sure the ACLU will be more then willing to help me!
#Yelp 365 ⁰¹⁹⁄₃₆₅
Date Visited: Friday, August 19, 2011