Tomorrow, the University of Hawaii football team opens its season, away to the University of Massachusetts. That's about as long a roadtrip as you can have in college football, and still be in the United States.
A week from tomorrow, they play their 1st home game, against Western Carolina.
Before You Go. Despite having to fly 1/3rd of a way across an ocean, you do not need a passport to visit Hawaii. However, it has its own time zone, and you will be a whopping six hours behind New York time. Adjust your timepieces accordingly, and get a wakeup call from your hotel.
Being tropical, and further south than anywhere in the U.S. mainland, Hawaii is naturally warmer, and rainier. And this is the tail end of Summer. Nevertheless, according to the Honolulu Star- Advertiser website, for the next couple of weeks, daytime temperatures should be in the mid-80s, and nighttime temperatures in the mid-70s, with only a small chance of rain. So you should be dry -- from rain, if not from sweat.
Tickets. Aloha Stadium officially seats 50,000 people, but UH only averaged about 23,000 fans per game last season. And it wasn't because they were bad. They weren't: They finished 7-7. And it can't be because the stadium is in bad shape. It can't be that bad, since the NFL still (usually) holds the annual Pro Bowl there, and the NCAA still allows the annual Hawaii Bowl there, which they wouldn't do if they didn't think the stadium was safe. Every Pro Bowl held there has had been 47,000 and 50,000 in attendance.
But from 2011 onward, UH home attendances have rarely topped 30,000. This may due to parts of the stadium simply being closed off, because they don't think they can sell tickets there. At any rate, getting a ticket shouldn't be a problem.
Seats on the west side of the stadium have sections labels with single letters, and on the east side with double letters. Midfield seats, in sections J, JJ, K, KK, L, LL, M and MM, are $75. Sideline seats further down, in sections F, FF, G, GG, H, HH, J, JJ (there is no I or II), N, NN, P, PP (there is no O or OO, but there is a PP), Q and QQ, are $50. Seats in the south end zone, sections A and AA through E and EE, are $40. Seats in the north end zone, sections R and RR through V and VV, are $25. I'm guessing there's more sun, and thus more heat, on the north end zone.
Getting There. Well, one thing's for sure: You are not driving. It's 4,960 air miles from from Newark Liberty International Airport to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (named for the longtime U.S. Senator) in Honolulu. And 2,570 of that is just from Los Angeles to Honolulu.
Put it this way: You can take Amtrak or Greyhound, or drive, all the way from New York to L.A., taking 3 days, and then take a cruise line from L.A. to Honolulu, with your car on board, and that will take another 3 days, and the whole thing could run you close to $2,000 -- each way. And that's not counting food, lodging, game costs, or anything else. Whereas a roundtrip, nonstop flight (without even stopping to refuel in California) could cost about $1,400.
Once In the City. When Hawaii was granted Statehood on August 21, 1959, the 50th and (so far) last State, having been a U.S. Territory since 1893 and an independent Kingdom before that, its name was registered as "Hawaii" and pronounced "Hah-WIGH-ee." But in 1978, an Amendment to the Constitution of the State of Hawaii added Hawaiian as an official State language. In Hawaiian, it's written "Hawai'i" and pronounced "Hah-WAH-ee."
Since it's not easy to get a car from Hawaii to the mainland,
you may now be seeing a Hawaii license plate for the 1st time.
The source of the name is disputed. Some say the islands are named for the legendary figure who discovered them, Hawai'iloa. Others point out similarities to the native name for "home land" in other Polynesian languages: "Hawaiki" by the Maori of New Zealand, and "Savai'i" by the Samoans.
There are dozens of Hawaiian Islands, formerly the Sandwich Islands, but 8 main ones. From west to east, they are: Ni'ihau (which is private), Kauai, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, Maui, and Hawai'i. The last of these, a.k.a. The Big Island, has more land area than the other 7 combined.
But of the 1.4 million people in the State, 950,000, about 2/3rds, live on O'ahu, about 350,000 of them in the State capital, Honolulu. For all intents and purposes, the entire island of O'ahu is Honolulu's "metropolitan area." About 55 percent of the people in Honolulu are Asian (20 percent Japanese, 13 percent Filipino, 10 percent Chinese, 4 percent Korean, 2 percent Vietnamese, 2 percent Samoan, and the rest scattered), 18 percent white, 8 percent "Native Hawaiian," 5 percent Hispanic, 2 percent black, and the rest claiming a mix.
Officially, Hawaii does not have a State sales tax, but it has a general excise tax (GET) "at every level of transaction on goods and services," which serves the same function. It's 4.5 percent on O'ahu, 4 percent on the other islands. ZIP Codes in Hawaii start with the digits 967 and 968, and the Area Code is 808.
Well, the 'Iolani Palace was the seat of the Hawaiian government until 1969. But the current State Capitol is a much smaller building at 415. S. Beretania Street. It opened after the original version of the show premiered -- and, sad to say, looks it. The 1960s were a great decade for many things, but architecture most certainly was not one of them. How can a State that is so beautiful have a State Capitol that is so... not?
The State House in Honolulu
Honolulu's land area occupies the southeastern corner of O'ahu, but most of the population resides along the coast, much like Australia. Address numbers increase eastward from the harbor, and northward and southward from Nuuanu Avenue.
Honolulu has a serious traffic problem, so the city is building Honolulu Rail Transit, or HART. (Yes, I know, and they know, there's no Capital A in that.) The first phase is scheduled to open in late 2020, and will include a station at Aloha Stadium. The bus system is named simply TheBus, and a single ride is $2.50. Neither the city nor the island has a freeway "beltway." Hawaiian Electric Industries provides the electricity.
The University of Hawaii was founded in 1907, after annexation but well before Statehood. In addition to its main campus, known as University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, it has a campus across the island of Oahu, the University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu, in Kapolei; one on "The Big Island," University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo; and one on the island of Maui, the University of Hawai'i Maui College, in Kahului.
Aside from football players, its notable athletes include baseball players Glenn Braggs, Chuck Crim and Steven Wright. Graduates in other fields include:
* Science: oceanographer Bob Ballard '66, former U.S. Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu '67.
* Journalism: Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons '68.
* Entertainment: Actress Georgia Engel '70, best known for playing Georgette Baxter (Mrs. Ted) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Shirley Burleigh (Mrs. Howard) on Coach; and Star Trek design master Michael Okuda '78.
* Politics, representing Hawaii unless otherwise stated: Senator Hiram Fong '30, Senator Spark Matsunaga '41 (yes, "Spark" was his real name), Congresswoman Patsy Takemoto Mink '48 (co-author with Senator Birch Bayh of Indiana of Title IX), Senator Daniel Inouye '50, Senator Daniel Akaka '52, former President Kuniwo Nakamura '65 of the Pacific island nation of Palau, Senator Mazie Hirono '70, Governor David Ige '79, and Senator Tammy Duckworth '89 of Illinois.
Also, President Obama's father, Barack Obama, B.A. '62; his mother, Dr. Ann Dunham, B.A. '67, M.A. '83, Ph.D. '92; and his half-sister, Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng, Ph.D. 2006. (Neil Abercrombie befriended Barack Sr. and Ann, got his master's degree at UH, and was later elected Congressman and Governor. However, his undergraduate degree was at Union College in Schenectady, New York.)
Going In. Aloha Stadium is 8 miles northwest of downtown, in the Halawa district, almost next-door to Pearl Harbor. Take Bus 11 or Bus 54 from downtown. It should take a little over half an hour. The official address is 99-500 Salt Lake Blvd. If you rented a car, parking is $7.00.
Baseball configuration
The field, now named Hawaiian Tel FCU Field, is artificial and always has been, and runs (more or less) north-to-south. It has been home to the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors since it opened, The Hawaiians of the World Football League in 1975, the Hawaii Islanders of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League from 1976 to 1985, and Team Hawaii of the original North American Soccer League in 1977. The Islanders won PCL Pennants there in 1975 and 1976, and additional Division titles in 1977, 1979, 1980 and 1984.
It has also hosted several postseason college football bowl games: The Aloha Bowl from 1982 to 2000, the Oahu Bowl from 1998 to 2000, the Hawai'i Bowl (the game uses the native spelling) since 2002, and the Hula Bowl, an east-west all-star game, from 1975 to 1997 and again from 2006 to 2008. NFL played its Pro Bowl there from 1980 to 2009, again from 2011 to 2014, and again in 2016. After 2 years in Orlando, Aloha Stadium will host the Pro Bowl again starting in 2019.
The National Anthem before the 1997 series
The stadium is also known for its swap meet, held every Wednesday, Saturday (aside from UH gamedays) and Sunday.
In 2007, to save money, the stadium was permanently locked into its football configuration, so even if Hawaii were to get another pro baseball team, they'd have to play somewhere else. This also prevents pro soccer from being played there, as the width of a soccer field required the stands to be moved into the baseball configuration.
In addition, Hawaii's humid climate and salt air leads to the rusting of the weathering steel used to build the stadium. Maintenance is expensive, and a 2016 renovation didn't seem to help much. There's a very good chance that, by the dawn of the 2020s, either a plan will be approved to build a new stadium, or Hawaii will lose major sports permanently.
This would leave the University of Hawaii to start building a smaller stadium for their football team or else drop their program entirely. Either way, don't expect Aloha Stadium to last much beyond its 50th Anniversary in 2025, if that long; and don't expect it to host the 2030 Pro Bowl.
UPDATE: On
November 19, 2018, Moneywise compiled
a list of their Worst
College Football Stadiums, the bottom 19 percent of college football, 25 out of 129. Aloha Stadium came in 2nd, ahead of only Vanderbilt Stadium (which I don't get, it's not a terrible place to watch a game). The article cited the 2016 renovation, saying it didn't mean much improvement.
Food. Centerplate runs the concessions, but I can find no reference to specific stands. Presumably, there will be specialty items, possibly with a Hawaiian theme.
Team History Displays. The University of Hawaii at Manoa (the school's full name, but usually just shortened to "Hawaii") has been playing football since 1909, except for 1942 through 1945, when World War II and concerns over another Japanese attack made it inadvisable. Originally, they were the Fighting Deans, but a rainbow appeared over their Moiliili Field in 1923, and they became the Rainbows. At some point, they became the Rainbow Warriors, just the Warriors in 2001, and the Rainbow Warriors again in 2013.
Their modern era began in 1956, when they went to Lincoln and avenged the previous year's 50-0 loss to Nebraska at Honolulu Stadium, and won 6-0. In 1968, defensive lineman Larry Cole became the 1st Hawaii player drafted by an NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys, and won 2 Super Bowls.
The school was put in NCAA Division II upon its postwar restoration in 1946 and in Division I-A upon the NCAA's I-A/I-AA split in 1974. Hawaii joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1979, played in its 1st real bowl game in the 1989 Aloha Bowl, and in 2012 joined the Mountain West Conference for football and the Big West Conference for all other sports.
It won the WAC in 1992, 1999, 2007 and 2010, although only the 2007 title was solo. In that season, the Warriors became the 3rd team from a non-automatic qualifier conference to play in a Bowl Championship Series game, losing the 2008 Sugar Bowl to Georgia, 48-14. There is no display for these titles in the fan-viewable areas of the stadium.
Hawaii has retired no uniform numbers. Its stars have included Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl winners Larry Cole (1967), Golden Richards (1972) and Mark Tuinei (1982); San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl winners Dana McLemore (1981) and Jesse Sapolu (1982); Denver Broncos Super Bowl winners Jason Elam (1991) and Maa Tanuvasa (1992); 3-time New England Patriots Super Bowl winner Adrian Klemm (1999); and Washington Redskins quarterback Colt Brennan (leader of their 2007 WAC Champions and 3rd in the Heisman Trophy balloting, though his pro career was a bust).
Since Brigham Young University left the WAC in 1993, Hawaii's biggest rivalry has been with Fresno State, who moved with them from the WAC into the Mountain West in 2012. The rivalry is a nasty one, featuring both teams have run up the score on the other (Fresno State won 70-14 in 2004, and Hawaii won 68-37 in 2006), and their fans have been European-soccer level abusive to each other. Fresno State leads the rivalry 26-22-1. (UPDATE: Through the 2019 season, it's now 29-22-1 in Fresno's favor.)
When Hawaii joined the MWC in 2012, they renewed an old rivalry with Wyoming, with whom they once played for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming's teams are called the Cowboys, and "Paniolo" is a Hawaiian term for a ranch hand (there are ranches on the islands) that, effectively, means "cowboy." The original trophy was lost, so a new one was created. Wyoming leads the series 13-9. (UPDATE: Wyoming now leads 14-10.)
The Paniolo Trophy.
Stuff. There is no major team store at Aloha Stadium, since it is owned by the State, not by the University. There are souvenir stands, but to get the better stuff, you'd have to go to the University Bookstore, at 2465 Campus Road.
As far as I can tell, there are no team videos, and the only book that Amazon.com seems to have on the team is Once A Warrior: Hawai'i Football, On the Field and Off the Record, by J. Ian Sample, Colt Brennan's most frequent receiver, and the son of ex-baseball player Billy Sample.
During the Game. As a visitor, and not one openly rooting for the opposing team, your safety is not likely to be an issue. Just remember that Hawaii is, to use Canada's term for Quebec, a distinct society, with its own native culture, of which they are proud. Treat the people as you would like them to treat you, and you will be accepted; if not, you're in trouble.
The UH marching band will play the National Anthem -- and they may play familiar Hawaiian songs as well. UH used to have a mascot, but he was no Rainbow Warrior. Warrior, certainly; "rainbow," definitely not. He was Vili Fehoko, using the name Vili the Warrior -- Vili is a common Polynesian name. He used to lead the players in a pregame haka dance, much like the Polynesian-dominated All Blacks, the New Zealand rugby team. Also like the All Blacks, UH sometimes wears all-black uniforms.
The fight song sounds more like an "Alma Mater":
Here’s to our dear Hawai‘i
Here’s to our Green and White
Here’s to our Alma Mater
Here’s to the team with fight
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Here’s to old warriors calling
Here’s to old battles won
Here’s to Hawai‘i’s victory
Here’s to each valiant one.
After the Game. Since you're a visiting fan, but not an opposing fan, you've got no reason to antagonize anyone. Therefore, you'll be welcome back anytime.
That's the good news. The bad news is that Aloha Stadium isn't really in a neighborhood, set off from neighborhoods by Interstates H1, H3 and H201 (for some reason, they use the State's name for a letter prefix, something no other State does), the Kamehameha Highway (State Route 99), and Salt Lake Blvd. So your postgame meal options are very limited. Restaurant 604 is a 5-minute drive away, at 57 Arizona Memorial Drive, just outside of Pearl Harbor. And there's a McDonald's and a Starbucks just down Salt Lake Blvd., south of the stadium.
If you're a fan of a European soccer team, there are 2 places that are cited as possibilities to watch. Legends Sports Pub is at 411 Nahua Street in the Waikiki area, about 3 miles southeast of downtown. Rivals Sports Lounge is nearby, at 2211 Kahio Avenue, but while it's a well-known place, it's not well-known for showing soccer. Bus 2 or Bus 13 from downtown will get you to either. The other, known for being the home of the Hawaii branch of the U.S. national team supporters' group, the American Outlaws, is Square Barrels, at 1001 Bishop Street, downtown.
Sidelights. Few places in the other, and no other place in America, are more frequently compared to "paradise" than Hawaii. Consistent good weather, beautiful topography, beautiful people, great food, and even good sports. Paradise? I suppose, if you don't mind mosquitoes and volcanoes.
Before there was Aloha Stadium, there was Honolulu Stadium. It was built in 1926, with a baseball grandstand, but adapting it for football gave it a weird look, along with a capacity of 25,000 fans. UH played there off and on from 1926 to 1974, and it hosted the Pineapple Bowl postseason college football game. (The name would be used for a 1991 episode of Coach, but it was a real game from 1939 to 1941, called off due to The War, and then played again from 1947 to 1952.)
Its main focus was baseball, and both Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio (while he was serving in the Army Air Forces during World War II). In 1957 and 1958, within a matter of weeks, it hosted both a pair of Elvis Presley concerts and a Billy Graham crusade.
In 1961, the Pacific Coast League's Sacramento Solons moved in, becoming the Hawaii Islanders. They won a Division title in 1970, and gave broadcaster Harry Kalas his big break from 1961 to 1964. (He even met his 1st wife, mother of broadcaster Todd Kalas, in Hawaii.) And the WFL's The Hawaiians played there in 1974 and part of the 1975 season.
But it was becoming clear that Honolulu Stadium was outdated, having earned the nickname "The Termite Palace." Aloha Stadium was built, taking in the Islanders and (briefly, before the WFL folded) The Hawaiians, and Honolulu Stadium was demolished in 1976. A plaque honoring the stadium now stands in Old Stadium Park. 2237 S. King Street, not far from the UH campus. Bus 1.
In 1984, UH built the 4,312-seat Rainbow Stadium, renaming it Les Murakami Stadium for their longtime baseball coach upon his 2002 retirement. The Hawaii Islanders played their 1986 and 1987 seasons there, before travel costs became prohibitive, and the team moved to Colorado Springs, leaving the State without professional sports. 1337 Lower Campus Road. Bus 1, and then walk down Varsity Circle, over Interstate H1, to the campus.
Adjacent, at 1355 Lower Campus Road, is their basketball arena, the Stan Sheriff Center. Built in 1994, the former Special Events Center was named for their longtime athletic director in 1998, but is usually called the Aloha Dome.
Believe it or not, there is a baseball legend buried in Hawaii. Not just any legend, but the man often called the inventor of the game. Alexander Cartwright, the member of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club who is said to have invented some of the earliest rules of the game in 1845, went west with the 1849 California Gold Rush, and instead continued on west when he learned of the opportunity to continue his careers as both a surveyor and a fireman in Hawaii. He served as Fire Chief of Honolulu from 1850 to 1863, and died there in 1892. He is buried at Oahu Cemetery, 2162 Nuuana Avenue. Bus 4.
In spite of the Padres having been the Hawaii Islanders' parent club 30 year ago, a 2014 New York Times article shows their support not even registering now. The Yankees and the San Francisco Giants both have about 15 percent of the fandom, with the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles teams, the Dodgers and Angels, both having token support. The most popular NFL team is the San Francisco 49ers. The most popular NFL team is the Los Angeles Lakers. The most popular NHL team is the Anaheim Ducks.
The Beatles did not perform in Hawaii, but Elvis Presley famously did. He made 3 films there: Blue Hawaii (1961), Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962, supposedly the Elvis film most often shown on TV), and Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966). On November 10, 1957, he did 2 shows at Honolulu Stadium. The next night, he did a private show at the Conroy Boxing Bowl at Wheeler Army Air Field. Conroy Bowl still stands, but since it's on a military base, access may be restricted. 627-699 Trimble Road. Bus 52 to Bus 72.
On March 25, 1961, he did a show at Pearl Harbor's Bloch Arena, to raise money for the Pearl Harbor Memorial Charity. This would be his last live performance for 7 years, and 1 of only 6 shows he would do from Autumn 1957 to Summer 1969. Also on a military base, so access may be restricted. 224 A Avenue. Bus 9.
That's the good news. The bad news is that Aloha Stadium isn't really in a neighborhood, set off from neighborhoods by Interstates H1, H3 and H201 (for some reason, they use the State's name for a letter prefix, something no other State does), the Kamehameha Highway (State Route 99), and Salt Lake Blvd. So your postgame meal options are very limited. Restaurant 604 is a 5-minute drive away, at 57 Arizona Memorial Drive, just outside of Pearl Harbor. And there's a McDonald's and a Starbucks just down Salt Lake Blvd., south of the stadium.
If you're a fan of a European soccer team, there are 2 places that are cited as possibilities to watch. Legends Sports Pub is at 411 Nahua Street in the Waikiki area, about 3 miles southeast of downtown. Rivals Sports Lounge is nearby, at 2211 Kahio Avenue, but while it's a well-known place, it's not well-known for showing soccer. Bus 2 or Bus 13 from downtown will get you to either. The other, known for being the home of the Hawaii branch of the U.S. national team supporters' group, the American Outlaws, is Square Barrels, at 1001 Bishop Street, downtown.
Sidelights. Few places in the other, and no other place in America, are more frequently compared to "paradise" than Hawaii. Consistent good weather, beautiful topography, beautiful people, great food, and even good sports. Paradise? I suppose, if you don't mind mosquitoes and volcanoes.
UPDATE: On November 30, 2018, Thrillist published a list of "America's
25 Most Fun Cities," and Honolulu
came in 25th.
Before there was Aloha Stadium, there was Honolulu Stadium. It was built in 1926, with a baseball grandstand, but adapting it for football gave it a weird look, along with a capacity of 25,000 fans. UH played there off and on from 1926 to 1974, and it hosted the Pineapple Bowl postseason college football game. (The name would be used for a 1991 episode of Coach, but it was a real game from 1939 to 1941, called off due to The War, and then played again from 1947 to 1952.)
In 1961, the Pacific Coast League's Sacramento Solons moved in, becoming the Hawaii Islanders. They won a Division title in 1970, and gave broadcaster Harry Kalas his big break from 1961 to 1964. (He even met his 1st wife, mother of broadcaster Todd Kalas, in Hawaii.) And the WFL's The Hawaiians played there in 1974 and part of the 1975 season.
But it was becoming clear that Honolulu Stadium was outdated, having earned the nickname "The Termite Palace." Aloha Stadium was built, taking in the Islanders and (briefly, before the WFL folded) The Hawaiians, and Honolulu Stadium was demolished in 1976. A plaque honoring the stadium now stands in Old Stadium Park. 2237 S. King Street, not far from the UH campus. Bus 1.
In 1984, UH built the 4,312-seat Rainbow Stadium, renaming it Les Murakami Stadium for their longtime baseball coach upon his 2002 retirement. The Hawaii Islanders played their 1986 and 1987 seasons there, before travel costs became prohibitive, and the team moved to Colorado Springs, leaving the State without professional sports. 1337 Lower Campus Road. Bus 1, and then walk down Varsity Circle, over Interstate H1, to the campus.
In spite of the Padres having been the Hawaii Islanders' parent club 30 year ago, a 2014 New York Times article shows their support not even registering now. The Yankees and the San Francisco Giants both have about 15 percent of the fandom, with the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles teams, the Dodgers and Angels, both having token support. The most popular NFL team is the San Francisco 49ers. The most popular NFL team is the Los Angeles Lakers. The most popular NHL team is the Anaheim Ducks.
The Beatles did not perform in Hawaii, but Elvis Presley famously did. He made 3 films there: Blue Hawaii (1961), Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962, supposedly the Elvis film most often shown on TV), and Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966). On November 10, 1957, he did 2 shows at Honolulu Stadium. The next night, he did a private show at the Conroy Boxing Bowl at Wheeler Army Air Field. Conroy Bowl still stands, but since it's on a military base, access may be restricted. 627-699 Trimble Road. Bus 52 to Bus 72.
On March 25, 1961, he did a show at Pearl Harbor's Bloch Arena, to raise money for the Pearl Harbor Memorial Charity. This would be his last live performance for 7 years, and 1 of only 6 shows he would do from Autumn 1957 to Summer 1969. Also on a military base, so access may be restricted. 224 A Avenue. Bus 9.
He did a show on November 17, 1972, and 2 on November 18, at the Honolulu International Center. On January 12, 1973, he did a show there for Elvis: Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite, his worldwide TV special. Officially, it was a rehearsal, with the cameras going as if it was real; unofficially, it was a failsafe, so there would be something to broadcast if something went wrong with the actual show. On January 14, he did the actual show, which was broadcast live around the world -- except in the U.S., because NBC didn't want to air it on the same day as Super Bowl VII (promotional costs, I suspect), and so they delayed it until April 4, 1973.
The HIC, which opened in 1964, is now named the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, after the Mayor who got it built, and a statue of Elvis stands outside. I'd say Elvis must have felt right at home, since the building has the same design as the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, but he never played that venue until 1974, after the Hawaii shows. 777 Ward Avenue, downtown.
The 'Iolani Palace, Hawaii's seat of government from 1882 to 1969, and the only royal palace on what is now U.S. soil, is now a museum. 364 S. King Street. The Hawaii State Art Museum is at 250 S. Hotel Street. The Honolulu Museum of Art is at 900 S. Beretania Street, across a park from the Blaisdell Center. All of these are downtown, and within walking distance, no bus needed.
The Bishop Museum, dedicated to Polynesian Culture, is at 1525 Bernice Street. Bus 2. Waikiki Aquarium is at 2777 Kalakaua Avenue. Bus 2 to 22 to reach anything in the Waikiki area.
The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and its memorials have an address of 1 Arizona Memorial Road, off the Kamehameha Highway. Bus 40 or 42. If you drive in, do not simply type in "Pearl Harbor," or it will take you to the still-active U.S. Navy base. You will need to get a ticket at the Visitor Center to see everything, including to get on the boat to the USS Arizona Memorial, but there is no entrance fee.
Hawaii has produced a President. And, as we now know with 100 percent certainty, Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, at 1319 Punahou Street. It is still a working hospital, and it's unlikely you'll be allowed into the specific delivery room where he was born. Bus 4. The places where Obama lived in Hawaii remain private residences, not official historic sites, and are not open to the public; while it probably wouldn't be that hard to find the addresses, I won't post them here.
If you're wondering, Obama has chosen to put his Presidential Library & Museum in his adopted hometown of Chicago, not in his birth city of Honolulu. This is for the best, due to Chicago's central location and Hawaii's significantly lesser accessibility.
Despite a lot of high-rise hotels, the tallest buildings in Hawaii are in a "twin towers" complex, known only by their address, 801 South Street, downtown, just 450 feet tall. A building is going up at 690 Pouhaina Street that will succeed it at 650 feet, but is not scheduled to open until 2019.
Not as tall as these, but Hawaii's most iconic building, is the Aloha Tower, a 184-foot-high former lighthouse built in 1926, which has been converted into student housing for Hawaii Pacific University. 155 Ala Moana Blvd., downtown. A mall is next-door.
The 26-story Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites opened on Leap Year Day, February 29, 1964, as the 1st luxury high-rise hotel in the State, overlooking Waikiki at 1777 Ala Moana Blvd. This is the building on whose balcony both versions of Steve McGarrett stand on in the openings of their respective versions of Hawaii Five-O, both Jack Lord in 1968 and Alex O'Loughlin in 2010. The hotel's developer was Chinn Ho, and the H50 character of Chin Ho Kelly (played by Kam Fong Chun, a real-life Pearl Harbor survivor and later a real-life Honolulu policeman, in the original and Daniel Dae Kim in the reboot) was named for him.
Because of its good weather and beautiful locations, Hawaii has been a filming location for many TV shows and movies. Some of the better-known TV series, in chronological order: Hawaiian Eye, Fantasy Island, Magnum, P.I, Jake and the Fatman, Baywatch, and One West Waikiki. Movies: The aforementioned trio of Elvis movies, Ride the Wild Surf, Blue Crush, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Lilo & Stitch, 50 First Dates, Battleship, and, of course, any movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, including From Here to Eternity, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Final Countdown and Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor.
*
It's not easy to get to Hawaii. Once you've been there, you may find that it's not easy to get back -- beyond the reasons associated with logistics. But it remains a target destination, and a good time can be had at a college football game there.
As Jack Lord used to say, "Be there. Aloha!"
The HIC, which opened in 1964, is now named the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, after the Mayor who got it built, and a statue of Elvis stands outside. I'd say Elvis must have felt right at home, since the building has the same design as the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, but he never played that venue until 1974, after the Hawaii shows. 777 Ward Avenue, downtown.
The Bishop Museum, dedicated to Polynesian Culture, is at 1525 Bernice Street. Bus 2. Waikiki Aquarium is at 2777 Kalakaua Avenue. Bus 2 to 22 to reach anything in the Waikiki area.
The Pearl Harbor Visitor Center and its memorials have an address of 1 Arizona Memorial Road, off the Kamehameha Highway. Bus 40 or 42. If you drive in, do not simply type in "Pearl Harbor," or it will take you to the still-active U.S. Navy base. You will need to get a ticket at the Visitor Center to see everything, including to get on the boat to the USS Arizona Memorial, but there is no entrance fee.
Hawaii has produced a President. And, as we now know with 100 percent certainty, Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at the Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children, at 1319 Punahou Street. It is still a working hospital, and it's unlikely you'll be allowed into the specific delivery room where he was born. Bus 4. The places where Obama lived in Hawaii remain private residences, not official historic sites, and are not open to the public; while it probably wouldn't be that hard to find the addresses, I won't post them here.
If you're wondering, Obama has chosen to put his Presidential Library & Museum in his adopted hometown of Chicago, not in his birth city of Honolulu. This is for the best, due to Chicago's central location and Hawaii's significantly lesser accessibility.
Despite a lot of high-rise hotels, the tallest buildings in Hawaii are in a "twin towers" complex, known only by their address, 801 South Street, downtown, just 450 feet tall. A building is going up at 690 Pouhaina Street that will succeed it at 650 feet, but is not scheduled to open until 2019.
Not as tall as these, but Hawaii's most iconic building, is the Aloha Tower, a 184-foot-high former lighthouse built in 1926, which has been converted into student housing for Hawaii Pacific University. 155 Ala Moana Blvd., downtown. A mall is next-door.
The 26-story Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites opened on Leap Year Day, February 29, 1964, as the 1st luxury high-rise hotel in the State, overlooking Waikiki at 1777 Ala Moana Blvd. This is the building on whose balcony both versions of Steve McGarrett stand on in the openings of their respective versions of Hawaii Five-O, both Jack Lord in 1968 and Alex O'Loughlin in 2010. The hotel's developer was Chinn Ho, and the H50 character of Chin Ho Kelly (played by Kam Fong Chun, a real-life Pearl Harbor survivor and later a real-life Honolulu policeman, in the original and Daniel Dae Kim in the reboot) was named for him.
Because of its good weather and beautiful locations, Hawaii has been a filming location for many TV shows and movies. Some of the better-known TV series, in chronological order: Hawaiian Eye, Fantasy Island, Magnum, P.I, Jake and the Fatman, Baywatch, and One West Waikiki. Movies: The aforementioned trio of Elvis movies, Ride the Wild Surf, Blue Crush, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Lilo & Stitch, 50 First Dates, Battleship, and, of course, any movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, including From Here to Eternity, Tora! Tora! Tora!, The Final Countdown and Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor.
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It's not easy to get to Hawaii. Once you've been there, you may find that it's not easy to get back -- beyond the reasons associated with logistics. But it remains a target destination, and a good time can be had at a college football game there.
As Jack Lord used to say, "Be there. Aloha!"
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