Tonia Moy loves buildings — not just because she’s an architect and architects should love buildings in much the same way veterinarians should love animals and couturiers should love clothes.

She loves buildings because of the insights they share about the people, culture and lifestyle of the time they were constructed. She loves buildings because every element — from the pitch of their roof to the shape of their windows — creates a look that’s as distinctive as a fingerprint.

On Saturday, Moy will be among the architects welcoming participants on a free walking tour spotlighting a dozen historically and architecturally significant buildings in Waikiki. The tour is one of the events the American Institute of Architects, Hono­lulu Chapter, is hosting as part of its seventh annual celebration of Architecture Month in April.

"We’ll be looking at notable buildings that were constructed in Waikiki over an 80-year span," Moy said. "We’ll be talking about ancient Waikiki, pre-statehood Waikiki and the tourism boom of post-statehood Waikiki. Although Waikiki is seen as an urban tourist spot, the walk isn’t just about hotels. We want to show that Waikiki is also a place of commerce, business offices and residences and that there are parts of it that are low-rise and quaint."

Moy is chairwoman of AIA Hono­lulu’s Historic Resources Committee, which planned and researched the route for the two-hour, mile-long tour. The committee’s challenge was to tell a compelling story about the development of Waikiki while keeping the distance short, so participants would be able to easily walk it.

"Some of the buildings are easily overlooked because they’re inconspicuous — hiding in plain sight, so to speak," Moy said. "We think the tour will reveal some surprises even for people who live, work and play in Waikiki."

Highlights include:

Moana Surfrider

Opened: 1901

Telephones, private baths and the first electric-powered elevator in the territory of Hawaii were among the innovations guests enjoyed when the stately "First Lady of Waikiki" opened. Rising two stories, the Ionic columns in its porte-cochere reflect the Beaux Arts style that heavily influenced American architecture at the turn of the 20th century.

The Moana underwent a $50 million historic restoration in 1989. Virginia Murison, who headed the architectural team for that project, will be based at the hotel to answer questions.

Royal Hawaiian

Opened: 1927

When it was being built, the $4 million, 400-room Royal Hawaiian was the largest construction project in the Pacific. Among the features of its Spanish Mission Revival style are tile roofs, arched arcades and a 150-foot-high bell tower.

The "Pink Palace of the Pacific" closed in 2008 for a seven-month renovation — only the second time it was shut down (the first was for a two-year renewal after World War II, when it was used as a rest-and-recreation center for Navy personnel). Wayne Goo of WCIT Architecture, which spearheaded the work, will be on site to chat with tour participants.

Seaside Apartments

Opened: 1939

The two-story, 10-unit Seaside Apartments is the best remaining example of the small residential units that dotted Waikiki before World War II; it now houses office and retail space. Design credit goes to the firm Dahl and Conrad, which was established in 1936 by Bjarne Dahl and Conrad "Connie" Conrad.

Longtime kamaaina will associate Conrad with the defunct Security Diamond and Conrad Jewelry stores, which his father founded in 1937. When Dahl and Conrad closed on Dec. 31, 1941, three weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Conrad gave up architecture to join the family business.

International Market Place

Opened: 1957

In 1955, entrepreneur Donn Beach announced plans for an open-air shopping, dining and entertainment "village" on a seaside parcel where King Kame­ha­meha IV and his wife, Queen Emma, once had a summer home. International Market Place welcomed its first customers two years later.

Exuding the ambience of a tropical bazaar, the Market Place is home to about 130 shops, carts, kiosks, services and restaurants. They surround a giant banyan where Beach once operated the Tree House, billed as the "World’s Most Exclusive Restaurant" because it could accommodate only two people.

Permits are being secured for a new three-level complex on the site, including about 60 stores, up to seven restaurants and a five-story parking garage.

Royal Hawaiian Center

Opened: 1980

As legend goes, the supernatural rooster Kaau­hele­moa flew to Waikiki from Palolo Valley to challenge Kaku­hi­hewa, king of Oahu in the 1600s. Kaau­hele­moa energetically scratched the earth in the area where the Royal Hawaiian Center, Waikiki Beach Walk and the Hale­ku­lani, Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian hotels now stand, then vanished.

Viewing that as an omen, Kaku­hi­hewa planted coconut trees where the rooster had scratched, and named the grove Helu­moa, meaning "chicken scratch." It supposedly grew to encompass 10,000 trees.

In 2007, in honor of the grove planted by Kaku­hi­hewa, the Royal Hawaiian Center planted 50 coconut trees to create the Royal Grove. That 30,000-square-foot garden, which borders the mall’s 110 shops and restaurants, will soon be enhanced with ponds, fountains, wider paths, new greenery and a new cultural center.

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.