[5] The building was constructed in the 1830s as a secret hideaway for King of Hawaii Kamehameha III, and then used as a U.S. Marine Hospital during 1844–1862.

The land was granted by King of Hawaii Kamehameha III to Joaquin Armas, a cowboy and immigrant from Alta California, in 1831.

At first, Armas leased the building to the U.S. government, but after his death, the property was auctioned off in 1855 to a John Nutter, who immediately resold it to James R. Dow, the physician in charge of the hospital at that time.

[9] The hospital was closed in 1862 after a U.S. Department of State investigation found widespread graft in the administration of the hospital,[4][9] including doctors charging fees to the U.S. government for already-dead patients, and also because the whaling industry had declined during the American Civil War.

At the time, it was in use as a tenement residence and was considered in fair condition, although the exterior stone walls had been covered with shingles.

In 1976, two local residents tried to force an environmental impact statement to be made for the condominium construction, but they were unsuccessful because that requirement was only instituted in June 1975, after the Historic Commission approval.

[14][15] Ultimately, vibrations from the condominium construction caused the Marine Hospital's walls to collapse into rubble by 1980.