What happened to Waikīkī?

Kūhiō Avenue now — The same view today — no sign of Diamond Head, no parking along Kūhiō Avenue, and taller buildings in evidence. (DeSoto Brown)

What happened to Waikīkī? Specifically, what happened to Waikīkī during its greatest period of change that began in the 1950s? Let’s look at these “then & now” comparisons of Waikīkī views to see very clearly how different things look today.

Why did Waikīkī change so much in the last 70 years? The growth of tourism, of course, was responsible. Speaking economically, it’s extremely fortunate that tourism did increase so dramatically during this period as it served to fill in the gap created as large-scale agriculture (sugar and pineapple) either contracted dramatically, or died altogether. These had been the foundation of the economy of the Hawaiian Islands but were outcompeted by other tropical countries, where workers were paid considerably less and thus their agricultural products were cheaper as well. This has been, and continues to be, the reason for the loss of domestic production in the United States and indeed worldwide.

Kalakaua Avenue 1953 — Kalākaua Avenue in 1953, with no obstructions in front of Diamond Head. On the left, on the other side of the street, is the Liberty House department store which had recently taken over all of the 1937 Waikīkī Theater Block’s individual retail spaces. Beyond it, marked by the Hawaiian flag, is the Don the Beachcomber’s restaurant complex. This would be replaced by the International Market Place in 1957. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

Kalakaua Avenue — The former Liberty House (which became Macy’s in 2001) was demolished in 1969 to be replaced by the Waikīkī Beachcomber hotel which stands on the other side of the street today. Just beyond it is the current version of the International Market Place. (DeSoto Brown)

Kalakaua near Seaside 1950s — Looking towards the Seaside Avenue intersection (just beyond the Union 76 gas station on the right) on Kalākaua Avenue in 1956. Overhead, above the street, you can see the wires that supplied power to the electric buses of the Honolulu Rapid Transit company; these were ended the next year. On the left side of Kalākaua in this view are only shrubs and trees as this was the garden of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel that extended up to the sidewalk. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

Kalakaua Avenue present day — Across Kalākaua Avenue today is the base of the 1965 Waikīkī Business Plaza and just beyond it is the 1976 Waikīkī Shopping Plaza building. On this side of the street is the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center which opened in 1980. Notice that the sidewalk is set back to the left; while this layout allows for attractive plantings, it also accomplishes something unexpected because the sidewalk is now located on private property. As such, the landowner can restrict access to anyone it chooses, which businesses find useful in a district with many homeless people. At least two other developments in Waikīkī do this same thing. (DeSoto Brown)

Beachwalk in 1955 — On Beachwalk, the Reef Hotel stands tall in the distance; it was one of the trend-setting new “highrise” 10-story Waikīkī buildings of 1955. On the left you can see the street sign for Helumoa Road at this intersection. Don’t look for this short street today; it was eliminated in the large redevelopment of this block in the 1990s. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

Beachwalk present day — Today this section of Beachwalk is a canyon between tall towers. The Reef Hotel is still in place at the end of this street, on Kalia Road. (DeSoto Brown)

When did Waikīkī's major changes begin? This is easy to pinpoint: it was the year 1955. That was when four new 10-story buildings were completed here; the Waikīkī Biltmore Hotel, the Princess Ka‘iulani Hotel, the Reef Hotel, and the Rosalei apartments. As insignificant as this would seem today, it marked a shift away from downtown as the focus of new construction, as well as starting Honolulu on its vertical growth.

We can also single out the shift in transportation for Waikīkī's increase in density, which was the replacement of cruise ships by airplanes for increasing numbers of tourists after World War II. While air travel grew significantly during the 1950s it was really the introduction of jets that kicked off the explosion. The first jets arrived in Hawai‘i in 1959, cutting hours from the trip from the west coast, carrying far more passengers on each flight compared to propeller planes and — most significantly — reducing air fares. Waikīkī couldn’t help but grow to accommodate all these new people. A major milestone was unexpectedly realized in late 1967 when the one-millionth tourist arrived for that year, ahead of what economists had predicted. There would be no looking back.

Kalakaua and Beachwalk 1956 — Here’s the intersection of Kalākaua Avenue (left) and Beachwalk (right) in November-December 1956. The numerous coconut palms seen here, and in the other historic Waikīkī photos with this article, had been planted along the street in the 1920s by the Outdoor Circle. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

Kalakaua and Beachwalk present day — Today, on the right, is the former Mitsukoshi Building which was constructed in the late 1970s by the Japanese department store chain of the same name. It was originally a multi-floor retail complex of the type often found in Japan, but which did not succeed in Waikīkī. It was notable originally for how thin sheets of constantly-moving water slid down its street-level windows. This feature was removed as part of a remodel, which is also when the multi-colored exterior glass panels seen here were added. Remarkably, the row of one- and two-story small buildings across the street that were present in the 1956 view are still in place today. (DeSoto Brown)

Kalakaua in 1960 — It’s really noticeable how much congestion there was on Kalākaua Avenue while traffic was still two-ways and curb parking was allowed, as you can see in this 1960 photo. Across the street is the Moana Hotel. The man closest to us on the sidewalk on the left is carrying a small white plastic transistor radio of the type that had been a technological marvel of the 1950s. Not only were these radios tiny by the standards of that time, they were cheap too. Their sound quality, however, was notoriously substandard. But the young buyers who were happy to take them to the beach didn’t care. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

A change you might notice in these various pairs of Waikīkī views is the great increase in growing green vegetation today. This has been true in many parts of Honolulu and because trees increase so slowly in size, we don’t notice how large they’ve become until we see an older photo to be able to spot the difference. Kalākaua Avenue has benefitted from more than one improvement project since the 1960s, to where today’s sidewalks are paved with hand-set stones, many with inscriptions in Hawaiian. Shady shower trees along with grass and various shrubs greatly enhance the district’s appearance, and maintenance workers are on the job each day to sweep and clean. Waikīkī creates the biggest part of the income from tourism and its importance in keeping this income steady was recognized years ago — so this necessary work goes on.

1961 version of International Market Place — This is the first version of the International Market Place as it appeared in early 1961, approaching its fourth year in business. At this early stage, the shopping complex still consisted of various buildings styled to look exotic, fulfilling an ideal of a fantasy mix of Polynesia and Asia. Tourists were pleased to wander in this fun setting which included free Hawaiian and Tahitian dance shows amidst a lot of tropical greenery. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

International Market Place today — Today’s International Market Place (at right) occupies the same site as the original but nothing from its early days was retained after a total demolition and rebuild except the large banyan tree just inside the entrance from Kalākaua Avenue. The often kitschy merchandise of the original is no longer present either. (DeSoto Brown)

Punchbowl as seen from Waikiki — No tall buildings are visible at the intersection of Kalākaua Avenue (center) and Lewers Street (foreground) in 1962. What is visible, surprisingly, is the distant view of Punchbowl Crater just above Kalākaua. You can actually see into the crater itself, and its central white memorial structure is prominent there. Today this is obscured in Waikīkī by the mature trees growing in Punchbowl’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, not to mention numerous buildings that are also in the way. (DeSoto Brown Collection)

Kalakaua and Lewers, present day — Today the same small buildings still stand on the other side of Kalākaua Avenue but the two tall Ritz Carlton towers are far more prominent. The eye-catching painted stripes in this intersection make it clear that as part of the regular traffic light cycle, all vehicles will regularly be stopped at one time for people to walk in any direction. The high volume of pedestrians in Waikīkī necessitated this change in the previous system within the last several years to increase the protection of everyone crossing streets here. (DeSoto Brown)

By the late 1970s much of Waikīkī looked as it does today, because while more towers have certainly been constructed since then, much of what we know now was in place. Although Waikīkī has been a crowded and densely urbanized district for decades, and has been criticized for that, it must be said that a great many visitors enjoy this vitality and the over-abundance of things to see and do. And even while Waikīkī is undeniably a city of itself, it is still located on the magnificently blue Pacific Ocean, with the Ko‘olau Mountains as one backdrop and Diamond Head as another, with the trade winds often blowing through it. And love it or hate it, we owe our economy to it, and had therefore better make sure it continues to function as smoothly as possible.