Peter T Young

December 15, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kaumualiʻi

Kaumuali‘i was the only son of Queen Kamakahelei and her husband, Aliʻi Kāʻeokūlani (Kā‘eo;) he was born in 1778 at Holoholokū, a royal birthing heiau specifically designated for the birth of high ranking children.

When Vancouver was anchored off Waimea, Kauai, he became interested in Kaumuali‘i, who was then about twelve years old. Vancouver found the child quiet and polite and good-tempered. He was interested in the new things which he saw, and asked intelligent questions.

When Vancouver made his second visit, he brought sheep as a present to the young chief. Kaumuali‘i entertained him with a dance of six-hundred women.

Kaumuali‘i kept up his interest in foreigners. They were his friends and taught him to read and write. Kaumuali‘i sent his son Humehume (Prince George) to America to be educated. (The young Prince later returned to the islands with the first party of American missionaries, in 1820.)

Kaumuali‘i became ruling chief of Kauai upon the death of his father Kā‘eo.

In 1784 Kamehameha I began a war of conquest, and, by 1795, with his superior use of modern weapons and western advisors, he subdued all other chiefdoms, with the exception of Kauai.

King Kamehameha I launched his first invasion attempt on Kauai in April of 1796, having already conquered the other Hawaiian Islands, and having fought his last major battle at Nu‘uanu on O‘ahu in 1795.

Kauai’s opposing factions (Kaumuali‘i versus Keawe) were extremely vulnerable as they had been weakened by fighting each other (Keawe died and Kaumuali‘i was, ultimately, ruler of Kauai and Ni‘ihau.)

About one-fourth of the way across the ocean channel between O‘ahu and Kauai, a storm thwarted Kamehameha’s warriors when many of their canoes were swamped in the rough seas and stormy winds, and then were forced to turn back.

Kamehameha’s second attempt was thwarted, again, when an epidemic, thought to be typhoid or dysentery, swept through the population, killing thousands. The sickness delayed for a second time Kamehameha’s goal of conquering Kauai.

In a renewed effort for a large-scale attack on Kauai, Kamehameha began assembling a formidable armada of sailing ships in Waikīkī, using foreigners to construct the vessels. The invasion never took place.

In the face of the threat of a further invasion, in 1810, at Pākākā on Oʻahu, negotiations between King Kaumuali‘i and Kamehameha I took place and Kaumualiʻi yielded to Kamehameha.

The agreement marked the end of war and thoughts of war across the islands. Although Kaumuali‘i had ceded Kaua‘i and Niʻihau to Kamehameha I, he generally maintained de facto independence and control of the island following his agreement with Kamehameha.

It is believed that in 1816 Kaumuali‘i considered it possible for him to claim rule over Kaua‘i, Ni‘ihau, O‘ahu, Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i, if he had Russian support. The Russians meanwhile were searching compensation for lost trade goods, as well as expanded trading opportunities.

Kaumuali‘i and Russian representative Georg Anton Schäffer had several agreements to bring Kauai under the protection of Russia, as well as weapons and ammunition from Schäffer, in exchange for trade in sandalwood. While agreements were made, subsequent battles never took place.

After King Kamehameha I died in 1819, Kaumuali‘i pledged his allegiance to Liholiho, Kamehameha’s son and successor. In 1821, Liholiho (King Kamehameha II) anchored his royal ship Ha‘aheo o Hawai‘i (Pride of Hawai‘i) in Waimea Bay, and invited Kaumuali‘i aboard.

After boarding the ship Kaumuali‘i was effectively taken as a prisoner and the ship sailed for O‘ahu. Kaumuali‘i settled in Honolulu and became a husband of Ka‘ahumanu, widow of Kamehameha I.

Hiram Bingham was on a preaching tour of the island of Kauai in 1824, shortly before King Kaumuali‘i died. Kaumuali‘i had been living on Oahu for three years. Bingham spoke to him just before coming to Kauai.

Bingham writes: “We found Kaumuali‘i seated at his desk, writing a letter of business. We were forcible and pleasantly struck with the dignity and gravity, courteousness, freedom and affection with which he rose and gave us his hand, his hearty aloha, and friendly parting smile, so much like a cultivated Christian brother.”

When the king died, Bingham said a gloom fell over Kauai. Kaumuali‘i was buried at Waine‘e Church (Wai‘ola Church,) on Maui.

After Kaumuali‘i’s death his son Humehume tried to seize the throne by leading a rebellion on Kauai, but he was defeated and sent to O‘ahu, where he could be watched.

King Kaumuali‘i’s granddaughter Kapiʻolani (1834–1899) married King Kalākaua.

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Mahiole (feather helmet) reportedly to be the gift from Kamehameha I to King Kaumualii-400
Mahiole_of_Kaumualii,_1899- Kaumualiʻi (c. 1778 – May 26, 1824) was the last independent Aliʻi Aimoku (King of the islands) of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau
Maui-Lahaina-Waiola_Cemetery-Kaumualii
George_Prince_Kaumualii-Morse-1816

December 13, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Billy Weaver

December 13, 1958 – 8-months before Hawaiʻi became a state … it was described as a typical trade wind, Windward Oʻahu day; the sky was clear; the water was a little rough with whitecaps and there were good-sized waves.

Six friends, ages 9 to 15, were doing what kids do, then and now; they had paddled and rowed out to the Mokulua Islands to surf and play in the water.

Along with an 8-foot boat, they had three surfboards and three air mattresses. The boys kept together; never was one more than 75 – 100-feet from the others.

Then, disaster struck.

Billy, 15-year old son of Spencecliff restaurants partner Clifton Weaver, was on an air mattress and missed catching a wave. Then, the rest of the boys noticed he was clinging to the mat, apparently in difficulty.

They heard a cry for help.

Seeing blood in the water, they swam over and tried to rescue Billy – they saw he had lost a leg.

Then, one of the boys cried out ‘Shark,’ seeing it surface 30-feet away.

Fearing their small boat would swamp in the surf, they rowed to shore to get help.

About an hour-and-a-half after the attack, the Fire rescue squad was on the scene. Other boats joined in the search. Finally a helicopter crew from the Marine Base spotted the body on the reef.

A local resident dove down and recovered the body. Efforts to revive him failed; Billy died from loss of blood, drowning, shock or a combination of the three.

The shark was estimated to be over 15-feet long; they believe it was a tiger shark. It was seen still cruising in the area.

The next day, the Territory and local residents set out to capture the shark. Bounties were offered. Lines of hooks were set in the water where the attack occurred. Overhead pilots spotted two schools of sharks in nearby Kailua Bay.

Over the next couple of days, more hooks were set and three tiger sharks and two sand sharks were caught.

In response to the fatal attack, the Billy Weaver Shark Research and Control Program was initiated. Starting April 1, 1959, 595-sharks were caught off Oʻahu during the remainder of the year; 71 were tiger sharks.

Kenny Young, my father, was the fund drive chairman for the Billy Weaver Shark Control Fund (Hawaiʻi’s first shark control program.) They accepted donations, and to raise additional money teeth from the hunted sharks were put on chains and sold as necklaces.

In the old days, folks used to catch and kill sharks. The accepted attitude was, “the only good shark is a dead shark.”

In an attempt to relieve public fears and to reduce the risk of shark attack, the state government of Hawaiʻi spent over $300,000 on shark control programs between 1959 and 1976. Six control programs of various intensity resulted in the killing of 4,668-sharks.

Subsequent evaluation of the 1959-1976 efforts noted, “Shark control programs do not appear to have had measurable effects on the rate of shark attacks in Hawaiian waters. Implementation of large-scale control programs in the future in Hawaiʻi may not be appropriate.” (Wetherbee, 1994)

At the turn of the century, my grandfather and his brothers (Young Brothers) used to have various jobs in Honolulu Harbor; one was taking paying customers out to harpoon sharks off-shore. My great-uncle, William, wrote books about his adventures shark hunting.

I remember Kohala shark “hunts” on the Big Island where a donated steer carcass was tied between points in a cove and “hunters,” on surrounding cliffs using high-powered rifles, shot at sharks feeding off the carcass.

Times have changed.

We have learned that tiger sharks (the ones most implicated in attacks on humans) don’t simply dwell in small coastal territories, but are instead extremely wide-ranging.

They are opportunistic predators and typically move on soon after arriving in an area, because the element of surprise is quickly lost and potential prey become wary and difficult to catch.

We know more now and recognize that sharks are an important part of the marine ecosystem. Sharks are often the “apex” or top of the food chain predators in their ecosystems because they have few natural predators.

As top predators, sharks help to manage healthy ocean ecosystems. Sharks feed on the animals below them in the food chain, helping to regulate and maintain the balance of marine ecosystems; limiting the populations of their prey, in turn affects the prey species of those animals, and so on.

To some, sharks are ʻaumakua (ancestral spirits that take possession of living creatures) that make appearances to express parental concern for the living, bringing warnings of impending danger, comfort in times of stress or sorrow or in other ways being helpful. (Kane)

Sad and Tragic, yes – we continue to have shark attacks. However, many believe it is typically mistaken identity – the sharks mistake surfers and floaters as turtles or seals. (Remember, we are visitors to their realm in the ocean.)

I still vividly recall Halloween morning, 2003, when DLNR’s shark expert came to my office to brief me on the shark attack on Bethany Hamilton on Kaua‘i. It was a somber day at DLNR. Unlike the old days, there was no “hunt” called for. Other incidents and attacks continue to occur.

“The number of shark attacks has nothing to do with how many sharks are in the water and everything to do with how many people are in the water,” said Kim Holland, University of Hawaiʻi shark researcher and Shark Task Force member. (Honolulu Advertiser, following the Hamilton attack)

John Naughton, a National Marine Fisheries Service biologist, said previous efforts to remove large predatory sharks saw the proliferation of smaller ones, which harassed fishermen and their catches.

“It’s an archaic way to manage the resource. It’s like the turn of the century, when they shot wolves. It doesn’t make sense anymore.” (Honolulu Advertiser, November, 2003) (Lots of information here is from Tester and Wetherbee.)

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Mokulua_Islands-SOEST

Tiger Shark

Billy_Weaver_SharkFund-Mokuleia_Cub_Scouts-KMY

TigerShark

Sharks hanging at Young Brothers

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Map of Kailua-Lanikai where sharks were spotted (Tester)

December 12, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

First White House State Dinner

“It is very seldom that the streets of Washington presented a more animated appearance than they did on this occasion. The sidewalks of Pennsylvania avenue were crowded with men, women and children, all anxious to catch a glimpse or the first reigning King ever on our shores.”

“Every window seemed to be filled with anxious spectators, and the house tops were covered with people. The appearance or the street could only remind one familiar with such scenes or an Inauguration day.”

“At 12 o’clock, the royal party reached the Arlington, and while alighting from their carriages and entering the hotel, received by Mr. Roessle, the marines, again in line, presented arms, and the band played the national anthem of the Sandwich Islands.”

“The King was Immediately shown to bis apartments, consisting or the throne roomy the royal dining room, the secretary’s office and the royal bed chamber.”

“… It is the Intention of the President and Mrs. Grant to give a Grand Reception at the White House one evening this week”. (National Republican, December 14, 1874)

Kalakaua “left Honolulu for the United States on the 17th of November, in the American man-of-war Benicia, and reached San Francisco November 21, taking the cars on December 5 arrived in Baltimore at 10.16 Saturday morning, December 12, en route for Washington.”

“The King was accompanied by his excellency JO Dominis, Governor of Oahu, and his excellency John M Kapena, Governor of Maui, the former a representative of the Anglo-American Hawaiian-born element or the nation, and the latter of the educated pure Hawaiian.” Baltimore Sun, December 14, 1874)

“Kalākaua was reportedly the first sitting monarch to visit the United States when he made a cross-country trip from San Francisco to Washington aboard the still-new transcontinental railroad in 1874.”

“He was seeking better trade between the United States and his Sandwich Islands, which is how mapmakers of the day labeled the Pacific archipelago that would become an American territory in 1898.”

“President Ulysses S. Grant, then halfway through his second term, decided to put on a display of diplomatic pomp-and-romp unlike any seen in Washington before.” (Hendrix; Washington Post)

When the king had arrived in San Francisco, he received a telegraph: “The President of the United States extends the cordial welcome of the nation to his great and good friend, His Royal Highness Kalakaua, on his arrival in the United States, and tenders his personal congratulations on the safety of his voyage.”

“The President anticipates with great pleasure the opportunity of a personal greeting, and assures His Highness of the sincere friendship which in common with the people of the United States he entertains for His Royal Highness, and hopes that his journey across the continent may be guarded by a kind Providence.” (Journal of the Telegraph)

“The President anticipates with great pleasure the opportunity of a personal greeting.’” (White House Historical Association)

“On the arrival of the palace train at the Sixth-street depot the King, escorted on his right and left by Secretary Fish and Mr. Commissioner Allen, walked through the depot to the mala B street entrance.”

“On this street a full battalion of Marines were drawn up In line, and as the King stood in the doorway or the depot they presented arms, while the full Marine band played appropriate music.” (National Republican, December 14, 1874)

“By the time of the state dinner 10 days later, Kalākaua was a well-documented celebrity (reporters wrote multiple stories on the king’s cough, picked up, apparently in Omaha — you know how train travel is).”

“There was equally breathless reporting on the dinner. The East Room and the Dining Room were laden with flowers, including banks of them along a framed mirror running the length of the banquet table. The Green Drawing Room featured a portrait of Grant on horseback recently given to him (“The likeness is good and the horse spirited,” the Star said.)”

“Grant, and more specifically, his wife, Julia, amazed the city with a White House table awash in flowers, crystal decanters and a $3,000, 587-piece set of Limoges china imported four years earlier by D.C. merchant J.W. Boteler and Bro.”

“‘Brilliant beyond all precedent,’ marveled the Washington Evening Star the following day.” (Hendrix; Washington Post)

“The Grant museum staff doesn’t have the menu from that first state dinner, but they know what was served at the many that followed. In fact, they recently held a mock state dinner, complete with impersonators standing in for the first couple and a historically correct menu of mulligatawny soup and charred tenderloin of beef.”

“‘Grant did not like any meat that was not thoroughly cooked’ … The original feast went on for some 30 courses.”

“There was probably a mid-meal intermission, with a Marine band playing. Julia Grant sat by the king, the president opposite. The chief justice, the speaker of the House, all the Cabinet members and their wives were at the table lined with glasses and decanters.”

“There were no young ladies present,” the Star reported. (Hendrix; Washington Post)

“(T)he extravagant black-tie blowout that has become America’s highest diplo-social ceremony was not French or British, Russian or Mexican. He was … Kalākaua, the last king of Hawaii.” Hendrix; Washington Post)

“The first ever foreign ruler to be given a White House state dinner was King David Kalākaua. He was hosted by President Ulysses S Grant on December 12, 1874, while in Washington on a mission to win trade concessions.”

“Kalakaua’s traveling was not restricted to visits to the US. In 1881, Kalakaua left his sister in charge and embarked on a lengthy global tour, calling on a host of important courts, from the Forbidden City (the imperial palace in China) to the Holy See (the universal government of the Catholic Church in Vatican City).” (Time)

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December 11, 2019 by Peter T Young 4 Comments

Spencecliff

Their father, Spencer Fullerton Weaver Sr, was one of the nation’s leading architects in the 1920s. Known as Major Weaver; among many other projects, his firm designed the Waldorf-Astoria, the Hotel Pierre in New York City, the Biltmore Hotels in Los Angeles and Florida, and the Breakers in Palm Beach. He designed and owned the Park Land and Lexington Hotels in New York.

Their mother, Emily Maloney Stokes Weaver, was a noted tennis player; she won two national indoor tennis doubles championships in 1914 (with Clare Cassel) and 1918 (with Eleanor Goss Lanning.)

The family lived in an apartment on Park Avenue, New York and had a country estate known as ‘Spencecliff,’ in East Hampton, Long Island, NY. (washington-edu)

But that ‘Spencecliff’ is not the basis for this story – this story is about the partnership of brothers Spence and Cliff and the Hawaiʻi business they founded, Spencecliff Restaurants.

Queen’s Surf (with its Barefoot Bar,) Tahitian Lanai, Coco’s, Tiki Tops, Fisherman’s Wharf, Senor Popo’s, Trader Vic’s, Kelly’s, South Seas, Ranch House … the list goes on and on.

It was a family operation, run by brothers Spencer (Spence) Fullerton Weaver Jr (May 18, 1911 – Aug 30, 1996) and Clifton (Cliff) Stokes Weaver (Jan 7, 1917 – Jan 23, 1992.)

After a couple visits to the Islands, the boys moved and later, intrigued by the fleet of hot dog trucks in Long Island, they got into the food service business with a half-dozen ‘Swanky Franky’ hot dog carts in 1939; then, later set up a stand at Ena Road and Ala Moana in Waikīkī.

Then came the Patio Restaurant downtown and the Snowflake Bakery; the Weavers also had a catering contract to feed five-thousand at Hickam.

After service in World War II, they formed the Spencecliff Corporation; it grew, and over the next few decades dominated the restaurant scene.

They opened the Sky Room (1948) at the airport terminal at John Rogers Field (now Honolulu International Airport.) In addition to the pre-flight airport presence, Spencecliff catered the food to airline passengers on ten major airlines, including American, JAL, Canadian Pacific, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

At one time, the Spencecliff operation included 50-restaurants, cabarets, coffee shops and snack bars in Hawaiʻi, almost exclusively on the island of Oʻahu. It also operated two hotels, three bakeries and a catering service in Hawaiʻi and two hotels in Tahiti. There were more than 1,500 employees.

Spence Weaver would later be inducted into the Hawaii Restaurant Association’s First Annual Hall of Fame in 2007.

One of the most famous of their operations was the Queen’s Surf (acquired in 1949.) They converted the former home of heir to Fleischmann’s Yeast fortune, Christian Holmes (Holmes also owned Coconut Island,) and turned it into Queen’s Surf; the home was originally build in 1914 by WK Seering of International Harvester Co.

Later (1971,) the property was condemned and Queen’s Surf and the neighboring Kodak Hula Show were evicted and the Waikīkī beachfront area was turned into a public park.

In addition, to the nightclub, there were coffee shops – lots of them – as well as other family-favorites.

Spencecliff was renowned for taking care of its employees, many of whom served for decades. Reportedly, each employee would receive personalized card and a birthday cake from the company bakery the day before their birthday, then were given the day off on their birthday.

All was not happy for the family; in 1958, Cliff’s 15-year-old son, Billy was killed in a tiger shark attack off the Mokulua Islands, on the Windward side.

Then their ownership in the restaurant operations came to an end. In the mid-1980s, increased rents and high interest rates affected Spencecliff’s bottom line; on July 14, 1986, they sold the operation to the Japanese firm, Nittaku Enterprises Co, for $6-million.

Unfortunately, the new owners didn’t have the same understanding/appreciation for the operations and it slowly disappeared.

Gone are the familiar favorites we used to enjoy. On the windward side, Tiki Tops was a family regular; and the ride over the Pali often took us to Fisherman’s Wharf (and its treasure chest for the kids.)

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My mother, Helen Lind, with the Swanky Franky, one of the hot dog stands that began the Spencecliff restaurant empire.

That’s my dad on the right. And I’m guessing he’s sitting with Cliff and Spence Weaver, Spencecliff founders.

December 10, 2019 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ala Hele Moʻolelo O Lāhainā

Maui captured “Best Island in the World” honors in the annual Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards Poll for nearly twenty-years in a row. Readers rave about this “veritable paradise,” calling it a “combination of tropical ambience and American comforts.”

Maui is known for its beaches and water activities, and the west side, including Lāhainā, boasts some of the most beautiful shores in Hawaiʻi, and it also has the distinction of having some of the most beautiful sunset views on the planet.

Lāhainā is the second most visited place in Maui – (behind the beaches) – a combination of natural scenic beauty, white sandy beaches, lush green uplands, near-perfect weather, rich culture and a great Hawaiian history in its sunny shores.

From 700 AD to the present, Lāhainā’s Front Street has experienced six major historical eras, from its days as an ancient Hawaiian Royal Center, capital and home of the Hawaiian Monarchy, home to Missionaries, Landing/Provisioning for Whalers, the Sugar and Pineapple Plantation era and now Tourism.

All are still visible in town.

Lāhainā has played an important role in the history of Maui and the neighboring islands of Moloka‘i, Lānaʻi and Kahoʻolawe, with Lāhainā serving as the Royal Center, selected for its abundance of resources and recreation opportunities, with good surfing and canoe-landing sites.

Probably there is no portion of the Valley Isle, around which gathers so much historic value as Lāhainā. It was the former capital and favorite residence of kings and chiefs. After serving for centuries as home to ruling chiefs, Lāhainā was selected by Kamehameha III and his chiefs to be the capital and seat of government; here the first Hawaiian constitution was drafted and the first legislature was convened.

Hawai‘i’s whaling era began in 1819 when two New England ships became the first whaling ships to arrive in the Hawaiian Islands. Over the next two decades, the Pacific whaling fleet nearly quadrupled in size and in the record year of 1846, 736-whaling ships arrived in Hawai’i.

Lāhainā was the port of choice for whaling ships. Central among the islands, Lāhainā was a convenient spot from which to administer the affairs of both Hawaiian and foreigner.

The anchorage being an open roadstead, vessels can always approach or leave it with any wind that blows. No pilot is needed here. Vessels generally approach through the channel between Maui and Molokaʻi, standing well over to Lānaʻi, as far as the trade will carry them, then take the sea breeze, which sets in during the forenoon, and head for the town.

In November 1822, the 2nd Company from the ABCFM set sail on the ‘Thames’ from New Haven, Connecticut for the Hawaiian Islands; they arrived on April 23, 1823 (included in this Company were missionaries Charles Stewart, William Richards and Betsey Stockton – they were the first to settle and set up a mission in Lāhainā.)

The Christian religion really caught on when High Chiefess Keōpūolani (widow of Kamehameha I and mother of future kings) is said to have been the first convert of the missionaries in the islands, receiving baptism from Rev. William Ellis in Lāhainā on September 16, 1823.

In 1831, classes at the new Mission Seminary at Lahainaluna (later known as Lahainaluna (Upper Lāhainā)) began. The school was established by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions “to instruct young men of piety and promising talents” (training preachers and teachers.) It is the oldest high school west of the Mississippi River.

Per the requests of the chiefs, the American Protestant missionaries began teaching the makaʻāinana (commoners.) Literacy levels exploded. From 1820 to 1832, in which Hawaiian literacy grew by 91 percent, the literacy rate on the US continent grew by only 6 percent and did not exceed the 90 percent level until 1902 – three hundred years after the first settlers landed in Jamestown – overall European literacy rates in 1850 had not been much above 50 percent.

The early Polynesian settlers to Hawaiʻi brought sugar cane with them and demonstrated that it could be grown successfully. It was not until ca. 1823 that several members of the Lāhainā Mission Station began to process sugar from native sugarcanes for their tables. By the 1840s, efforts were underway in Lāhainā to develop a means for making sugar as a commodity.

Historically Maui’s second largest industry, pineapple cultivation has also played a large role in forming Maui’s modern day landscape. The pineapple industry began on Maui in 1890 with Dwight D. Baldwin’s Haiku Fruit and Packing Company on the northeast side of the island.

Starting in the 1850s, when the Hawaiian Legislature passed “An Act for the Governance of Masters and Servants,” a section of which provided the legal basis for contract-labor system, labor shortages were eased by bringing in contract workers from Asia, Europe and North America.

It is not likely anyone then foresaw the impact this would have on the cultural and social structure of the islands. The sugar industry is at the center of Hawaiʻi’s modern diversity of races and ethnic cultures. Of the nearly 385,000 workers that came, many thousands stayed to become a part of Hawai‘i’s unique ethnic mix. Hawai‘i continues to be one of the most culturally-diverse and racially-integrated places on the globe.

It is believed that Hawai‘i’s first accommodations for transients were established sometime after 1810, when Don Francisco de Paula Marin “opened his home and table to visitors on a commercial basis …. (in) ‘guest houses’ (for) the ship captains who boarded with him while their vessels were in port (Honolulu.)”

Tourism exploded. Steadily during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, the millions of tourists added up. A new record number of visitor arrivals (over 7.8-million visitors) came to the islands in 2012. Tourism is the activity most responsible for Hawaiʻi’s current economic growth and standard of living.

By whatever means (vehicle, transit, bicycle or on foot,) exploring Lāhainā and embracing the scenic beauty, natural features, historic sites, associated cultural traditions and recreational opportunities will give the traveler a greater appreciation and understanding of Hawai‘i’s past and sense of place in the world – and demonstrates why Lāhainā is a “window to the world.”

To commemorate Lāhainā’s rich heritage, the Lāhainā Interpretive Plan Team has designed a series of interpretive signs and orientation maps called Ala Hele Moʻolelo O Lāhainā, the Lāhainā Historic Trail, which is now installed throughout Lāhainā’s two historic districts surrounding Front Street. Lāhainā Restoration Foundation participated in this trail formation.

The historic “trail” is not really a trail, but rather identification of the historical sites scattered throughout Lāhainā. Many have been restored by the Lāhainā Restoration Foundation, and can be found within the core of Lāhainā.

This self-guided walking tour provides a view of each era of the town that is considered one of the most historically significant places in Hawai’i.

Lāhainā is a place where history and culture come alive.

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