Images of Old Hawaiʻi

  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Ali’i / Chiefs / Governance
    • American Protestant Mission
    • Buildings
    • Collections
    • Economy
    • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
    • General
    • Hawaiian Traditions
    • Other Summaries
    • Mayflower Summaries
    • Mayflower Full Summaries
    • Military
    • Place Names
    • Prominent People
    • Schools
    • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
    • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Collections
  • Contact
  • Follow

August 29, 2022 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Kaluaokau

Kaluaokau, an ʻili in Waikīkī, has been interpreted with several possible meanings.  Henry Kekahuna, a Hawaiian ethnologist, pronounced Kaluaokau as ka-lu‘a-o-ka‘u, which translates as “the grave of Ka‘u” (lu‘a means “heap, pile or grave.”)

The term Kaluaokau can also be divided as ka-lua-o-Kau, which literally translates as ka (the) lua (pit) o (of) Kau (a personal name), or “the pit of Kau.”  There are others.

Whatever the purpose of the prior naming and its meaning, this portion of Waikīkī (including Helumoa, Kaluaokau and adjacent ‘ili) was important in the lives of the Hawaiian Ali’i.

The ‘ili of Kaluaokau was eventually granted to William Lunalilo (the first democratically elected King, who defeated Kalākaua in 1873.)

The first structure on the property was a simple grass hut; Lunalilo later built and referred to his Waikīkī home as the “Marine Residence;” it consisted of a residence, a detached cottage and outbuildings, surrounded by a fence. The estate included a small section that extended makai to the sea and included several small outbuildings and a canoe shed.

Following Lunalilo’s death in 1874, his Kaluaokau home and land were bequeathed to Queen Emma, the widow of Kamehameha IV (Alexander Liholiho – who had died in 1863.)

Queen Emma had Papaʻenaʻena Heiau on the slopes of Diamond Head dismantled, and she used the rocks to build a fence to surround her Waikīkī estate.

Later litigation confirmed that the Queen Emma parcel included access to the water (ʻĀpuakēhau Stream) and the taro growing on the ‘Marine Residence” property.  Queen Emma is known to have resided occasionally on the Waikīkī property before her death.

Her will stated that her lands be put in trust with the proceeds to benefit the Queen’s Hospital in Honolulu, which Queen Emma, along with her husband, Kamehameha IV, had helped to found.

Records indicate Henry Macfarlane, an entrepreneur from New Zealand who had settled on O‘ahu owned and/or leased property within the Kaluaokau ʻili.

Reportedly, it was Macfarlane and his wife who planted the banyan tree currently growing in the center of the property. They lived on this property for a while, eventually raising six children, some of who became financiers for sugar plantations and for the early tourist industry in Waikīkī.

The site was also used by immigrant Japanese workers.  During the construction of hotels (Moana Hotel, Royal Hawaiian Hotel) in the early twentieth century (and later the Surfrider in 1952) by the Matson Navigation Company, cottages were built for housing the mostly Japanese immigrant workers and their families, and called “Japanese Camps.”  More buildings were built.

By the mid-1950s, there were more than fifty hotels and apartments from the Kālia area to the Diamond Head end of Kapiʻolani Park. The Waikīkī population by the mid-1950s was not limited to transient tourists; it included 11,000 permanent residents, living in 4,000 single dwellings and apartment buildings.

On January 16, 1955, entrepreneur Donn Beach (Don the Beachcomber) announced plans for a “Waikīkī Village” that was to be called “The International Market Place.”

The International Market Place first opened in 1957. Envisioned as a commercial center with the Dagger Bar and Bazaar Buildings, and featuring the arts, crafts, entertainment and foods of Hawaiʻi’s multicultural people, it may have been one of the earliest cultural tourist attractions in the Islands.

Designed originally to encompass 14-acres between the Waikīkī Theater and the Princess Kaʻiulani Hotel, extending from Kalākaua Avenue halfway to Kūhiō Avenue, the International Market Place was to be a “casual, tropical village with arts, crafts, entertainment, and foods of Hawai‘i’s truly diverse people … including Hawaiian, South Sea islander, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Filipino…” (Queen Emma Foundation)

By the late-1950s, a row of retail shops had been constructed along Kalākaua Avenue.  Other elements of the International Market Place included the Hawaiian Halau, Japanese Tea House and Esplanade buildings. The banyan tree, which still remains to this day, was also once home to Don’s tree house.

Matson sold all of its Waikīkī hotel properties to the Sheraton Company in 1959 and no longer required housing for its hotel staff. Additionally, properties were likely cleared in anticipation of the extensive development that occurred throughout Waikīkī in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1964, Waikīkī’s entertainment hub was International Market Place; and it’s where the first Crazy Shirts shop was born (initially known as Ricky’s Crazy Shirts.) T-shirts with a message sold. Some were silly (“Suck ’em Up!”), some were logos (“Surfboards Hawaii”), and some were political (“Draft Beer Not Students”). (Crazy Shirts)

The famous Duke Kahanamoku’s (Duke’s,) where Don Ho gained fame, was once housed there. Don the Beachcomber, one of Waikīkī’s long-gone landmark restaurants, as well as Trader Vic’s also called it home.

Hawaiʻi radio icon, Hal Lewis (the self-named “J Akuhead Pupule,” best known to Island radio listeners as “Aku,”) once broadcast his popular morning talk show from the tree house in the Banyan tree.

However, over the last half-century, as the rest of Waikīkī evolved, the Market Place kept its 1960s look, as visitors wind through the carts and kiosks, hawking T-shirts, plastic hula skirts, volcano-shaped candles, and other tiki and tacky souvenirs.

Landowner Queen Emma Foundation changed that. Working with the Taubman Company, the International Market Place, Waikīkī Town Center and Miramar Hotel were demolished, and new structures took their place.

Aiming to restore “a sense of Hawaiianness,” the new International Market Place features low-rise structures, open-air shops and restaurants, paths, gardens, a storytelling hearth, a performance amphitheater and, yes, parking. And the banyan tree stays.

Today, as successor to The Queen’s Hospital, The Queen’s Medical Center is the largest private nonprofit hospital in Hawaiʻi, licensed to operate with 505 acute care beds and 28 sub-acute beds. As the leading medical referral center in the Pacific Basin, Queen’s has more than 3,500 employees and over 1,100 physicians on staff.

The royal mission and vision of The Queen’s Health Systems is directly supported through revenues generated by the lands bequeathed by Queen Emma when she passed away in 1885, including the International Market Place.

© 2022 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Filed Under: Place Names, Prominent People, Economy Tagged With: Don Ho, Trader Vic's, Kaluaokau, Hawaii, Don the Beachcomber, Waikiki, Oahu, Lunalilo, Kamehameha IV, Matson, Queen Emma, Duke Kahanamoku

June 2, 2019 by Peter T Young 2 Comments

Tiki (or Tacky)

Remember the pre- and post-war (WW II) proliferation of “Tiki” bars and restaurants?

OK, I wasn’t even born then, but as the phenomenon grew into the 1950s and 60s (by then, I was around,) I do recall the tacky tourist joints in Waikīkī and elsewhere.

Thing is, though, those rum-based watering holes didn’t start here; they were the brainchild of a couple entrepreneurs on the continent, who eventually brought their establishments to our shores.

Starting in 1934, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt (who?) – aka Donn Beach – opened the first Polynesian motif bar in Los Angeles, just off Hollywood Boulevard.

Named “Don the Beachcomber,” his bar seated about two dozen customers and he scattered a few tables in the remaining space. The place was decorated with faux South Pacific décor, along with old nets and parts of wrecked boats he scavenged from the oceanfront.

The Polynesian Pop revival was underway.

Not to be out-done, Victor Jules Bergeron (who?) – aka Trader Vic – in 1936 converted his Oakland “Hinky Dink’s” pub into a South Seas tropical retreat with tiki carvings, bamboo and outrigger canoes and rechristened it “Trader Vic’s.”

I still recall my 21st birthday and the celebration of my first legal consumption of alcohol at the downtown Denver Trader Vic’s, while I was a student at University of Denver – we had Mai Tais.

Polynesian Pop spread like wildfire and tiki-themed eateries opened across the country. While others have followed, none bettered the tiki and tacky of Don’s and Vic’s.

Along with the décor, rum-based concoctions were the signature drinks in these themed establishments. And that brings us to a discussion on who really invented the themey-est Polynesian Pop umbrella drink of all … the Mai Tai.

Some say Donn, some say Vic – others suggest a quiet barkeep at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Here is what I have found and it’s based mostly on the self-professed statements from each of their websites.

While Don the Beachcomber started the whole tackiness, he apparently does not claim “invention” rights to the Mai Tai. Although the Mai Tai was served in Donn’s establishments, then and now, his signature rum-based theme drink was the Zombie.

The New York Times ran a brief obituary that painted him as a sort of Thomas Edison of the thatched-roof bar and the inventor of 84 bar drinks (Mai Tai, not included.)

The honor of invention of the Mai Tai seems to be directed at Trader Vic.

The story goes that the original Mai Tai was created by Victor J. Bergeron in 1944 by combining 2 ounces of 17-year-old J. Wray Nephew rum with juice from one fresh lime, 1/2 ounce each of Holland DeKuyper Orange Curacao and French Garnier Orgeat, and 1/4 ounce Rock Candy Syrup. The mixture is hand shaken and poured over shaved ice with a fresh mint garnish and 1/2 the lime rind.

The story seems to indicate he then asked some Tahitian friends to taste his new concoction and they reportedly exclaimed “maitaʻi” – the Tahitian expression for “good”; but today the drink is spelled as two words, sometimes hyphenated or capitalized.

Reportedly, in 1953, Vic brought his wildly acclaimed Mai Tai to the Hawaiian Islands when he was asked by the Matson Steamship Lines to design the cocktail menu for the bars at their Royal Hawaiian, Moana and Surfrider Hotels.

The Mai Tai became such a popular cocktail in the 1950s and 1960s that virtually every restaurant, particularly tiki-themed restaurants or bars, served them.

Nelia and I find ourselves returning to Waikīkī every now and then, rotating between the Royal Hawaiian and Halekūlani for Mai Tai sunset sips and pupu.

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2019 Hoʻokuleana LLC

don-the-beachcomber-bar
don-the-beachcomber-bar
Donn Beach
Donn Beach
Victor_Bergeron-Trader_Vic's_Invents_Mai_Tai-1944
Victor_Bergeron-Trader_Vic’s_Invents_Mai_Tai-1944
Mai-Tai
Mai-Tai
Zombie-Don_the_Beachcomber
Zombie-Don_the_Beachcomber
Hinky_Dinks-Saloon-forerunner of Trader Vic's
Hinky_Dinks-Saloon-forerunner of Trader Vic’s
Trader_Vic's-Denver
Trader_Vic’s-Denver
Trader_Vic's_Denver
Trader_Vic’s_Denver
Trader_Vic's_Opens_First_Franchise_in_Hawaii-1950
Trader_Vic’s_Opens_First_Franchise_in_Hawaii-1950
Trader_Vic's_Matchbook_cover
Trader_Vic’s_Matchbook_cover
Trader_Vic's_logo
Trader_Vic’s_logo
Trader_Vic's_International_Marketplace
Trader_Vic’s_International_Marketplace
Trader_Vic's_Honolulu
Trader_Vic’s_Honolulu
Trader Vic's Ward Avenue
Trader Vic’s Ward Avenue
Trader Vic's Open First Operation in Seattle-1940
Trader Vic’s Open First Operation in Seattle-1940
Trader Vic's International Market Place
Trader Vic’s International Market Place
Trader-Vics-first-at-926-Ward-Avenue-in-Honolulu.-It-opened-in-the-early-1950s-and-moved-to-the-International-Marketplace-after-1967
Trader-Vics-first-at-926-Ward-Avenue-in-Honolulu.-It-opened-in-the-early-1950s-and-moved-to-the-International-Marketplace-after-1967
Hawaii_Kai...in_New_York
Hawaii_Kai…in_New_York
Exotic_Drinks
Exotic_Drinks
Don the Beachcomber
Don the Beachcomber

Filed Under: Economy, General Tagged With: Don the Beachcomber, Mai Tai, Polynesian Pop, Hawaii, Halekulani, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Trader Vic's

March 22, 2017 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki

Starting in 1934, Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt – aka Donn Beach – opened the first Polynesian motif bar in Los Angeles, just off Hollywood Boulevard.

Named “Don the Beachcomber,” his bar seated about two dozen customers and he scattered a few tables in the remaining space. The place was decorated with faux South Pacific décor, along with old nets and parts of wrecked boats he scavenged from the oceanfront.

Not to be out-done, Victor Jules Bergeron – aka Trader Vic – in 1936 converted his Oakland “Hinky Dink’s” pub into a South Seas tropical retreat with tiki carvings, bamboo and outrigger canoes and rechristened it “Trader Vic’s.”

The Polynesian Pop revival was underway.

The Polynesian restaurant is one of the first, and perhaps most successful, of the theme restaurants in the middle 20th-century.

Much of the success of Polynesian restaurants rests in the recreation of outdoor landscapes that are responsible for bringing the magic of the Polynesia to life in the restaurants. Inscape is prevalent and incredibly intricate, with a high level of detail and realism.

The most successful Polynesian restaurants make use of water features, live plants, rocks, and even special effects to recreate lush, paradisiac environments. The use of Inscape strongly suggests the fostering of a sense of place by anchoring the theme restaurant in a particular time and place. (Cornell)

Historically the thematic construct for Polynesian restaurants is intended as a total immersion in another cultural context, so much so that its effect is to disassociate people from their familiar surroundings.

Polynesian restaurants provide an escape from routine. “Women in particular like to ‘get away from it all’ by dining in a romantic, exotic room with a ‘faraway look in its eyes.'”

One trade source states that “the ways in which mats and thatch are used beneath the ceiling stimulated the shutting out of (the city’s) heat and glare.” (Cornell)

In the 1950s and 60s, an epidemic of island fever swept the US. Tiki-themed structures spread like jungle vines. (Flaherty) The Polynesian restaurant boom produced from 100 to 200 restaurants.

One consequence of the disjunction from reality means that Polynesian restaurants are adaptable for any American city. Consequently, they were built across the country in seemingly unlikely places.

Once such made its way to uptown in the Windy City.

From its opening in 1949, Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki on Wilson Avenue in Chicago, provides “entertainment direct from Hawaii” and “dancing under Hawaiian skies.”

By 1959, its owner escalated the restaurant to an “authentic Hawaiian theatre restaurant.”

It stood on the corner of Clarendon and Wilson in uptown Chicago. “There were fresh pineapples on the tables, paper leis and ti leaves hanging all around”. (Campbell, 1954)

“So many clubs have come and gone,” said veteran entertainer Gwen Kennedy, owner of The Barefoot Hawaiian, who performed in many of the vanished places, doing the hula on stage at Honolulu Harry’s beginning at age 3. (Daily Herald)

Although Polynesian restaurants remained fashionable in the 1960s, other theme dining establishments start to appear with different themes. (Cornell)

Follow Peter T Young on Facebook 

Follow Peter T Young on Google+ 

Follow Peter T Young on LinkedIn  

Follow Peter T Young on Blogger

© 2017 Hoʻokuleana LLC

Honolulu Harrys Waikiki
Honolulu Harrys Waikiki
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - 4541 Broadway - Interior - 1950
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – 4541 Broadway – Interior – 1950
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki-theatre-restaurant-c1960
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki-theatre-restaurant-c1960
Chicago-Clarendon-and-Wilson-Honolulu-Harrys-Restaurant-1956
Chicago-Clarendon-and-Wilson-Honolulu-Harrys-Restaurant-1956
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki
Chicago-honolulu-harrys-waikiki
Honolulu Harry's audience participation
Honolulu Harry’s audience participation
Honolulu Harry's Waikiki Restaurant, Chicago, IL (restaurant) -Tiki Central Menu
Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki Restaurant, Chicago, IL (restaurant) -Tiki Central Menu
Honolulu Harry's Waikiki Dancers
Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki Dancers
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - Photo Holder
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – Photo Holder
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - Children
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – Children
Chicago - Honolulu Harry's Waikiki - Business Card
Chicago – Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki – Business Card
Honolulu Harry's Waikiki-mailer
Honolulu Harry’s Waikiki-mailer

Filed Under: Economy, General, Buildings, Prominent People Tagged With: Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, Donn Beach, Victor Jules Bergeron, Hawaii, Trader Vic's, Don the Beachcomber, Polynesian Pop

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Connect with Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Teshima’s
  • Waikīkī’s Construction Evolution
  • A Building Tells Stories About Buildings
  • Saint Patrick’s Day
  • No Taxation Without Representation
  • Ka Iwi
  • Hāmākua in the 1880s

Categories

  • General
  • Ali'i / Chiefs / Governance
  • Buildings
  • Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings
  • Hawaiian Traditions
  • Military
  • Place Names
  • Prominent People
  • Schools
  • Sailing, Shipping & Shipwrecks
  • Economy
  • Voyage of the Thaddeus
  • Mayflower Summaries
  • American Revolution

Tags

1915 Albatross Babe Ruth Battery Salt Lake Body of Liberties Collegia Theatre David Howard Hitchcock Department of Hawaiian Home Lands Diamond Head H-4 Hale O Lono Happy New Year Howard Kaleohano James Hay Wodehouse James Lord Pierpont Julian Calendar Kailua Airfield Kamanawa Kamehameha V Kona Field System Kukaniloko Kuleana Labor Union Laplace Louis Pohl Lunalilo Home Mao Merchant Street Na Pali National Construction New World Norman Keith Collins Oliver Cromwell Picture Bride Presidents' Day Quaker Resolution Right Samuel Damon Sir Humphrey Gilbert Sometaro Shiba Sperm Whale St Anthony Tea William Reed

Hoʻokuleana LLC

Hoʻokuleana LLC is a Planning and Consulting firm assisting property owners with Land Use Planning efforts, including Environmental Review, Entitlement Process, Permitting, Community Outreach, etc. We are uniquely positioned to assist you in a variety of needs.

Info@Hookuleana.com

Copyright © 2012-2021 Peter T Young, Hoʻokuleana LLC

 

Loading Comments...