Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii, is a diverse metropolis that in many respects bridges the cultures of cities in the western United States, such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, with those of Pacific Rim megalopolises such as Tokyo and Taipei.

A relatively young city, built up on the value of sugar and pineapples and its ideal location as a military base and business hub, this modern, palm-shaded state capital is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

Landscape

Hawaii, the only American island state, lies entirely on volcanic ground. Honolulu's foundations on the Island of Oahu rest on the remains of two huge prehistoric volcanoes, Waiʻanae and Koʻolau.

Honolulu takes up about 86 square miles on the southeast coast of the island. It lies at 21.31 degrees north of the equator, 2,387 miles from San Francisco, 3,831 miles from Tokyo, Japan, and 4,968 miles from New York City. The altitude ranges from sea level up to 2,013 feet. The city is between the Koʻolau and Waiʻanae Ranges, which reach as high as 4,025 feet on Mount Kaala.

The Koʻolau Range lies along Oahu's east coast and siphons off most of the moisture that blows in from the northeast trade winds. The three months from November to January average between three and four inches of rain. Rainfall drops below one inch per month on average from June through September. September through May is the "cold" season, with average temperatures of 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but the average summer season is little different, remaining a comfortable 79 degrees on average. As such, weather forecasting in Honolulu is largely an afterthought. Average highs are always between 80 and 88 degrees, and lows range only from 65 during the winter up to 74 at the peak of summer.

The only significant variable is the occasional change in wind direction as the Kona winds from the south occasionally take over the trade winds to blow in more humid air. This shift can also usher in hurricanes in late summer and fall, although Honolulu has generally been spared the brunt of such storms. On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki pounded the island of Kauai, about 100 miles northwest of Honolulu, with sustained winds of 130 to 140 miles per hour, gusting up to 175 mph. Two people died, and the storm destroyed 1,200 homes and damaged nearly 12,000, causing an estimated $3 billion in property damage.

Hawaii is proud of its relatively clean air for a major city, thanks again in part to the trade winds, but also because of efforts such as the Bus Rapid Transit system, or BRT. This system, which began construction in 2004, aims to create an extensive network of less-polluting gas-electric hybrid buses to provide public transportation throughout the city.

People

Since 1950, more than 70 percent of Hawaii's population has lived in or around Honolulu. Unlike most American metropolitan areas with separate city, county, and suburban governments, Honolulu dissolved Oahu County in 1907 in favor of one consolidated City and County of Honolulu. This structure simplifies the delivery of many government services, although it makes population statistics somewhat confusing, as the entire island of Oahu is often lumped in with Honolulu.

The total estimated population of urban Honolulu in July 2024 was about 344,967, according to the US Census Bureau, while Honolulu County had a population of about 1 million people in 2023, according to DATA USA. Asians were the largest demographic group in the county (42 percent), consisting primarily of Filipinos and Japanese, followed by people of two or more races (18.9 percent). Approximately 17.4 percent of the population was White, 9.3 percent was Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and 2.3 percent was Black or African American. About 9.3 percent self-identified as Hispanic or Latino.

The diversity of Honolulu is reflected by its famous natives, including actors Tia Carrere (b. 1967) and Jason Momoa (b. 1979) and writer-activist Janet Mock (b. 1983). Born Althea Rae Janairo, Carrere is of Filipino, Hawaiian, Chinese, and Spanish descent; Momoa is of Hawaiian, Native American, German, and Irish descent; and Mock is of Hawaiian, African American, and European descent.

Honolulu has about the same number of Buddhist temples as Catholic churches. There are hundreds of other houses of worship throughout the city; the majority are Protestant, but Daoist temples and Shinto shrines are present as well.

Honolulu's character sways like its signature palm trees among beachside resorts, ultramodern high-rise buildings, and the old-world character of Chinatown. Racial tensions between the city's Asian immigrants and its white settlers (including US military personnel), although seldom extreme, peaked with the closing of Buddhist temples during World War II. The modern history of Honolulu is largely one of racial harmony, although there remain large discrepancies in wealth among residents.

Economy

Tourism remains an economic mainstay of Hawaii, accounting for more than 100,000 jobs in the arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, and food services sectors in 2017. Honolulu does its part with the famous beach area of Waikiki, accounting for much of the $1.51 billion in tourist spending in the state. From October 2022 to October 2023, more than 448,000 tourists visited the island of Oahu, spending an estimated $673.3 million. Waikiki has more than 30,000 hotel rooms and is home to the Hawaii Convention Center, which opened in 1998.

Honolulu's multicultural, multilingual, well-educated community, combined with its proximity to major economic centers on both sides of the Pacific, has led to its growth as a major communications and business services hub for firms doing business in both the United States and Asian countries.

Military expenditures have always been closely tied to Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. In 1988, there were 134,000 military personnel and family members stationed in Hawaii, most in the Honolulu area, and 21 Navy ships based at Pearl Harbor.

Several events conspired around 1990 to significantly slow Honolulu's growth. For one, real estate prices continued to soar, making the city one of the most expensive in the United States. The Japanese economic boom came to an end as the yen's high valuation slowed exports in the late 1980s. Central bank intervention backfired, the Japanese stock market collapsed around 1990, and the country fell into recession. At the same time, the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 heralded the end of the Cold War and led to drastic pullbacks in US military spending in the area.

After regaining some of its luster among Asian tourists by 2000, the city lost significant tourism from the US mainland following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent decline in air travel. However, as tourism slowly returned to Hawaii, the area also picked up a substantial increase in defense spending. Another downturn in Hawaiian tourism occurred after the deadly 2023 wildfires in Lahaina, on the island of Maui. The fires claimed more than one hundred lives. Honolulu was not directly affected by the fires, but people displaced by the fires moved to Honolulu.

Agriculture also remains significant for Honolulu as the center for trade of the islands' meat, nut, cocoa, juice, and coffee exports. Other drivers of the local economy include the state government, the University of Hawaii, and healthcare. In the 2020s, the largest employment sectors were accommodation and food services, healthcare and social assistance, retail trade, government, and education.

Landmarks

Honolulu has an abundance of popular landmarks and tourist attractions, the most prominent of which is the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. The sinking of the battleship USS Arizona caused the largest loss of life in the 1941 attack on the harbor. In 1961, a memorial was constructed above the remains of the ship, which are still visible about six feet below the water's surface. There is also a memorial at the Battleship Missouri, where the Japanese eventually surrendered.

Waikiki is one of the most famous beaches in the world. Best known as the jewel of Hawaii during the 1950s and 1960s, it has been revitalized at the turn of the twenty-first century. The east end of the beach is marked by the beginning slopes of Diamond Head, Honolulu's closest extinct volcanic peak and another of Hawaii's most visited features. Saint Augustine Church in Waikiki was built in 1854.

Other landmarks in the nearby downtown area are Kawaiahao Church, built of 14,000 coral blocks in the 1830s and 1840s, and the three-story Iolani Palace, which marks the end of the grandeur of the Hawaiian monarchy. Built in 1882 by King David Kalakaua, the palace served as the state capitol until 1969. It is now a museum.

Other famous Honolulu museums include the Contemporary Museum, featuring the works of modern artists such as Frank Stella and Andy Warhol; the Honolulu Academy of Arts, with its collection of many Asian and Hawaiian fine artworks; the Hawaii Maritime Center on the waterfront, which features Polynesian canoes, whaling ships, steamships, and naval vessels; and the Bishop Museum, also known as the State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, which traces the roots of Hawaii's diverse culture.

The Dole Plantation, at the center of the island, is no longer a working farm but does trace the history of the pineapple industry. It is also known for its 1.7-mile-long maze that runs through 2 acres of lush vegetation, including hibiscus and plumeria plants. The Honolulu Zoo houses 1,230 animals in its 42 acres situated within Kapiolani Park. Hanauma Bay State Park in East Honolulu features a marine nature preserve where visitors can snorkel and learn about the bay's reef habitat and conservation.

History

Many navigators and explorers have crossed the Pacific to Hawaii, with the first Polynesian immigrants arriving as early as 0 CE. The earliest settlers probably came from the Marquesas Islands around 900 CE. What is now Honolulu was first settled around 1100. British captain James Cook arrived in Hawaii in 1778, and his countryman Captain William Brown is credited with being the first to sail into Honolulu harbor (then called "Brown's harbor") in 1794.

American Christian missionaries soon followed, including a group from New England in 1820, to try to counter the Polynesian rituals practiced on the islands. As occurred in many areas of the Western Hemisphere, diseases such as smallpox brought by the influx of European-bred settlers killed most of the native Hawaiian population.

Whaling and trading ships jammed Honolulu in the early 1800s. Sandalwood was an early leading export. The town gained a lively reputation for its nightlife that catered to the thousands of sailors who were in port on any given day.

Honolulu continued to prosper as a trading port for sugarcane plantations in the mid-1800s. In 1843, local monarch King Kamehameha III was deposed by British forces who sought to control the sugar trade, but political pressure led to his re-ascension later that year. Honolulu became the official capital of the kingdom in 1845, but foreign interests continued to undermine local authority. By 1890, the monarchy was largely ceremonial.

The death of King David Kalakaua in 1891 left his sister, Queen Liliuokalani, to preserve the throne. In 1893, American businessmen, aided by US Marines, usurped Liliuokalani and installed a provisional government. Sandford Dole, the pineapple plantation magnate, became the islands' first president. As Hawaiian natives had feared, ceding control over the sugarcane trade quickly led to annexation by the United States. Hawaii was formally declared a US territory in 1898.

The US military took swift advantage of the port of Pearl Harbor in order to create a western outpost for the Navy. Businessmen created luxury hotels on Waikiki Beach to lure wealthy Americans across the Pacific via steamship. Honolulu experienced phenomenal growth during this period, with annual population increases as high as 5 percent. From 81,993 people in 1910, Honolulu County hit 202,887 by 1930.

The United States entered World War II after a surprise attack by Japanese navy bombers on December 7, 1941, decimated the fleet of American ships at Pearl Harbor. Previously reluctant to officially declare war against spreading German aggression around the world, and oblivious to the Japanese threat, the US quickly mobilized tremendous forces of men and weaponry to bring to bear in both Europe and the Pacific.

Hawaii became the fiftieth state on August 21, 1959. As commercial air traffic grew after the war, Honolulu again experienced a growth spurt, with the county population surpassing 500,000 in 1960 and 762,565 by 1980.

Homelessness became a major problem for Honolulu in the early twenty-first century. In response, the city incentivized construction and expedited permitting to increase the stock of affordable housing. It also took on several infrastructure projects, from expanding bus service to upgrading sewers to constructing a rail line to ease traffic congestion. In 2014, Honolulu expanded the city's sit-lie ordinance to Downtown Honolulu and fourteen other Oahu business districts. The ordinance bars people from sitting or lying down along public sidewalks, and while it applies to all residents, it mostly affects people without housing. Supporters touted the ordinance as a compassionate way to clear unhoused people's encampments and prevent them from impeding public spaces, while opponents questioned its constitutionality and effectiveness. In 2017, the sit-lie ordinance was expanded again to include Iwilei and other parts of Kapalama.

Trivia

• Honolulu means "a sheltered bay" in the Hawaiian language.
• The southern tip of the Hawaiian Island chain is also the southernmost land of the United States. However, the islands are gradually moving north, drifting at a rate of about one inch per year.
• Amelia Earhart flew from Honolulu to Oakland, California, in 1935, becoming the first woman to make such a lengthy solo flight across the Pacific Ocean.
• Famous Honolulu natives include actor Bette Midler, born in 1945. The only Jewish student and one of few white students in her school, she would go on to attend the University of Hawaii and work in a pineapple factory before landing a role in the 1966 film Hawaii. Actor Kelly Preston was born in Honolulu in 1962.
• Kamehameha I became Hawaii's first king in 1810.
• Michelle Wie, age fourteen, took a break from her Honolulu ninth grade class in 2004 to play in a number of PGA golf events. She began by beating about a third of the field of male professionals in the Sony Open at Honolulu's Waialae Country Club. Her par score tied the score of PGA star Jim Furyk, among others.
• The first direct communications link between Honolulu and the US mainland was a 2,620-mile telephone/telegraph cable strung across the ocean floor in late 1902.
• Aloha Stadium in Pearl Harbor, just west of Honolulu, is the site of the National Football League's annual season-ending Pro Bowl.

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