Images of Old Hawaiʻi

by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Ala Wai Boat Harbor

Waikīkī was well-suited for Hawaiian shallow-draft canoes that did not require deep water and could be easily beached.

Deeper-draft Western ships anchored off-shore, “it is unquestionably the most eligible anchoring place in the island.”  Its advantages were sandy bottom, soft coral, irregular reef and mild surf. Nonetheless, while foreign ships did anchor at Waikīkī, it was not the perfect harbor.  (Vancouver 1793)

“…On rounding Diamond hill the village of Wyteetee (Waikīkī) appears through large groves of cocoanut and bread-fruit trees … A reef of coral runs along the whole course of the shore, within a quarter of a mile of the beach, on which the sea breaks high; inside this reef there is a passage for canoes. Ships frequently anchor in the bay, in from sixteen to twenty fathoms, over a sand and coral bottom.”  (Corney, 1818)

On shore, Waikīkī was famous for its fishponds with one listing citing 45 ponds.  The ten fishponds at Kālia were loko puʻuone (isolated shore fishponds formed by a barrier sand berm) with salt-water lens intrusion and fresh water entering from upland ʻauwai (irrigation canals.)  These were later used as duck ponds.

Following the Great Māhele in 1848, many of the fishponds and irrigated and dry-land agricultural plots were continued to be farmed, however at a greatly reduced scale (due to manpower limitations.)

In the 1860s and 1870s, former Asian sugar plantation workers (Japanese and Chinese) replaced the taro and farmed more than 500-acres of wetlands in rice fields, also raising fish and ducks in the ponds.

Toward the beginning of the 1900s, downtown Honolulu was the destination for Hawaiian visitors, who numbered only about 3,000. While Honolulu had numerous hotels, there were few places to stay in Waikīkī.

In 1891, at Kālia, the ‘Old Waikiki’ opened as a bathhouse, one of the first places in Waikīkī to offer rooms for overnight guests. It was later redeveloped in 1928 as the Niumalu Hotel; the site eventually became the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

In 1906, the US War Department acquired more than 70-acres in the Kālia portion of Waikīkī for the establishment of a military reservation to be called Fort DeRussy.

The Army started filling in the fishponds which covered most of the Fort site – pumping fill from the ocean continuously for nearly a year in order to build up an area on which permanent structures could be built.  Thus, the Army began the transformation of Waikīkī from wetlands to solid ground.

As part of the government’s Waikīkī Land Reclamation project, the Waikīkī landscape was further transformed with the construction of the Ala Wai Drainage Canal – begun in 1921 and completed in 1928 – resulted in the draining and filling in of the ponds and irrigated fields of Waikīkī.

During the 1920s (before Ala Moana Park,) a barge channel was dredged parallel to the shore through the coral reef to connect Kewalo Basin to Fort DeRussy.

Part of the dredge material helped to reclaim wetland that was filled in with dredged coral; this created the area now known as Ala Moana Park (completed in 1934.)

Smaller boats, moored in the dredged area, also traveled along this channel to Kewalo Basin to get out to sea.  While no formal facilities were built, boats anchored in the nearshore waters; this was the beginning of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

Portions of the coastal area were used as a public park (1936-1947.)   Around this time, the land was conveyed from the City to the State (1949) and some land-based boat-related uses started popping up.

Ala Moana Park grew in popularity as swimming beach; with growing use and concern for interaction between Park users and boaters, in 1951, a channel was dredged directly out to sea.  The reef rubble that was dredged was used to fill in this old navigation channel (between Kewalo and the Ala Wai Harbor.)

Over the years, the Harbor grew incrementally.

The Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor is the State’s largest recreational boat harbor, among about fifty small boat harbors, launching ramps, jetties, wharves and landings statewide transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

It consists of about 700 berths. There are also dry berthing spaces, a harbor agent’s office, comfort stations, showers, paved parking, a launching ramp and pier.

In 2022, there were nearly 333.3-million people in the US. There were close to 12-million registered recreational water vessels in that year, meaning that about 4% of our population owns a recreational watercraft of some sort.

Hawaiʻi, the only island state completely surrounded by water, ranks last (50th) in the number of boats, as well as boats per capita in the country (Florida ranks 1st in the number of boats; Minnesota ranks 1st per capita.)

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

A Lasting Legacy by a Brief Stop by Austrians in Hawaiʻi

Austria, politically weakened both domestically and abroad, was forced to relinquish its leading role in Germany after its defeat by Prussia in 1866. Conservative forces sought to retain the old Habsburg glory, but the progressive industrialization had its consequences.  (all-history)

The imperial and royal monarchy of Austria-Hungary did not succeed in integrating the many ethnic groups under its rule. This phenomenon, paradoxically, led to a certain stability, given that no significant union was possible between so many competing nationalities. Meanwhile the civil servants remained loyal to their Habsburg paymasters.  (all-history)

Germans and Hungarians were favored in the political process. Later, into the 1870s, tensions grew.  (Internal conflict led in 1914 to the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, the Archduke Francis Ferdinand – World War I began.)  (all-history)

It was in this timeframe – 1860-1870s – that Austrians had a chance stay in Honolulu.

At that time Austria-Hungary, also known as the Danube Monarchy, was a major European power comprising some 60-million people who spoke 14-different languages and dialects. The country was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty.

The frigate SMS Donau (with a crew of 360-men,) together with the Corvette Erzherzog Friedrich of the Imperial Austrian Navy, left their base at Pola, Croatia on the Adriatic in late-1868 on a mission to strengthen Austria-Hungary’s trade and consular establishments in the Far East and along the coast of South America.

Donau translates to Danube (the Danube River runs through the core of Austria-Hungary; it’s about 1,000-miles long, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.)

Off the coast of Japan, the two ships ran into two horrific typhoons. It was decided for the Erzherzog Friedrich to return to Europe and the damaged Donau to continue to Honolulu for repairs.

“Arrival of the Austrian Frigate Donau, HIR Austrian Majesty’s steam frigate Donau, Admiral Baron von Petz, commanding, arrived at this port on Monday the 20th, 37 days from Yokohama, Japan. She encountered two heavy cyclones during the passage, in the last of which she suffered serious damage.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“The Donau carries 16 guns, and her engines are 200 horse power. At 10 o’clock AM, on Tuesday, she saluted the Hawaiian flag, which was returned from the Battery on Punch Bowl. She has on board the members of the Imperial Legation, consisting of Contre Admiral Baron von Petz, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary ; Baron von Trautteaberg, Secretary of Legation; Pfisterer, Officer Board of Trade; Schonberger, Czerey, Commercial Reporters.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“In connection with the Donau, we would say that from private letters received from the officers of that ship, here, we are informed that all look back upon their visit in Honolulu with the utmost pleasure. The Hawaiian flag, hoisted over the Consulate at Valparaiso on the first Sunday of their visit there, was hailed with cheers by officers and crew.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, October 5, 1870)

“The Austrian Frigate Donau … experienced heavy storms on the passage, damaging her spars, machinery and hull.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

“We hear that Messrs. Foster & Co. will undertake to repair the Austrian Frigate Donau. The job is a heavy one, and will require great skill and ingenuity on the part of the shipwrights, with the appliances at hand, but we understand that it can be done.  The work will be commenced immediately.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, December 22, 1869)

It took some 5 months to repair the ship.

While the Donau was being repaired, the ship’s marching band held daily dockside evening concerts to the great delight of the Honolulu populace.

“A Band in Honolulu, as a convenience on private occasions, and as a means of enjoyment to the public at large, can be easily appreciated, the more so, by the remembrance of the out-door concerts that have of late been given by the Bands attached to war-ships that have visited this port.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

“The Band of Kamehameha III, whose performances at the levees at the Palace, and on other occasions, have now nearly passed out of public remembrance, has entirely disappeared, not more than two members we believe being at present alive; the leader Mr. Mersberg, is living on Hawaii, where he is now engaged in instructing a volunteer Band of twelve instruments, with very great credit to himself as band-master.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, November 9, 1870)

Based on the performances of the Austrian Band, folks petitioned King Kamehameha V to re-institute the Royal Hawaiian Band, originally established in 1836 as the “King’s Band.”

In debate in a legislative session to fund a band, legislator Harris noted:  “As for the item for a band, we needed one. We could dispense with very many things which we now have clothing; for instance, of some kinds. A band also exercised a very beneficial Influence on the people in general.”

“We had recently been favored with the band of the Austrian man-of-war Donau; everyone had been allowed to listen to their music, and its good Influence was shown by the fact of the decrease of crime in the city at that time.    As regarded the band, it was the intension to get genuine musicians to instruct our young men in the art of music.  All of that expense would be abundantly paid for.”  (Hawaiian Gazette, July 13, 1870)

The legacy of the Royal Hawaiian Band lives on.

When the Donau arrived, it had six dead sailors aboard, 2-officers and 4-crew, who had perished in the storms.  They were buried in the Catholic cemetery on King Street (across from Straub.)

In 2012, the Austrian Association of Hawaiʻi had a rededication ceremony in the cemetery for the deceased sailors; the Royal Hawaiian Band performed at the rededication ceremony.

Lots of info here is from a speech by H. Pepi Pesentheiner (Bürgermeister (President) of the Austrian Association of Hawai‘i,) at the rededication of the SMS Donau graves.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Kahahana

At the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (1778-1779), the Hawaiian Islands were divided into four kingdoms: (1) the island of Hawaiʻi under the rule of Kalaniʻōpuʻu, who also had possession of the Hāna district of east Maui; (2) Maui (except the Hāna district,) Molokai, Lānai and Kahoʻolawe, ruled by Kahekili; (3) Oʻahu, under the rule of Kahahana; and (4) Kauai and Niʻihau, Kamakahelei was ruler.

Kahahana was high-born and royally-connected. His father was Elani, one of the highest nobles in the ʻEwa district on Oʻahu, a descendant of the ancient lords of Lihue. His mother was Kaionuilalahai, a sister of Peleioholani, King of Oʻahu, and a cousin of Kahekili, King of Maui.  (Fornander)

While still a child, Kahahana was sent to Maui to grow  up into young manhood in close contact with one of the most noted courts among the different island kings – the court of his relative, Kahekili.

Educated in all the athletic and warlike exercises, Kahahana was remarkable for his personal beauty and manly bearing. Handsome, brave and gallant, he was the idol of the Maui court and the pride of the Oʻahu aristocracy.  (Fornander)

In 1773, back on Oʻahu, Kūmahana was High Chief.  For six generations, Oʻahu Chiefs had always been loyal to the Kākuhihewa family and they were looked upon as their representative on the Oʻahu throne.  Here, Kualiʻi and Peleioholani (grandfather and father of Kūmahana) set a standard.

Kualiʻi was celebrated for his long life and other qualities.  Stern but just, Peleioholani’s reign was a blessing to his kingdom of Oʻahu, which probably had never since the days of Maʻilikūkahi stood higher in population, wealth, and resources, than at the time of his death.  (Fornander)

Not so for Kūmahana.  His weaknesses and extravagancies were enough in three short years to alienate chiefs, priests and commoners.

While leadership was typically assumed via conquest or heredity, under Kūmahana, Chiefs, in conjunction with the High-priest Kaʻōpulupulu, called a public meeting to consider the situation of the country and for the avowed purpose of deposing Kūmahana.

Not a voice was heard nor a spear raised in defense of Kūmahana, who then and there was publicly decreed incompetent and unworthy to rule the Oʻahu kingdom. That meeting and the manner of the execution of its decree find few parallels in the most civilized of modern countries, where the people had to resort to revolution to protect the best interests of their country and their own well-being.  (Fornander)

Though Kūmahana had grown-up children at the time, the Oahu nobles passed them by in selecting a successor to the throne.  It was decided that Kahahana was the most available of all who could be accepted for their future ruler; this was the second king to be elected to succeed to the throne of Oʻahu, the first being Maʻilikūkahi who was his ancestor.

Kahahana was still in Kahekili’s court on Maui at the time and when approached to release Kahahana to return to Oʻahu, Kahekili turned to Kahahana and said, “I permit you to go. Only do me this favor, that when you are firmly established on O‘ahu, you let the land of Kualoa and the ivory that drifts ashore (palaoa-pae) be mine; let these be my property on the island.”  (Kamakau)

Then the chiefs, lesser chiefs, priests, counselors, warriors and commoners gathered from the mountains of the interior to the seacoast at the principal place at Waikīkī to make Kahahana Chief over O‘ahu.  When word of Kahekili’s request was made known to Kaʻōpulupulu he responded, “if you give away these things your authority will be lost.”  (Kamakau)

“To Kualoa belong the water courses of your ancestors, Kalumalumaʻi and Kekaiheheʻe; the sacred drums of Kapahuʻulu, and the spring of Kahoʻahuʻula; the sacred hill of Kauakahi son of Kahoʻowaha of Kualoa. Without the ivory that drifts ashore you could not offer to the gods the first victim slain in battle; it would be for Kahekili to offer it on Maui, and the rule would become his. You would no longer be ruler.”  (Koʻolaupoko HCC)

In Hawaiian tradition, the lands of Kualoa were considered to be the symbol of sovereignty and independence for Oahu, and were closely protected by the Oahu chiefs and priests.  (NPS)

The ahupuaʻa of Kualoa was once famed for the “ivory that drifts ashore (Palaoa-pae)”. The combination of wind, current and reef brought to the Kualoa shoreline the bodies of dead whales.  Whale ivory that washed ashore was considered sacred.

One of the most powerful symbols of status was the whale tooth lei or lei niho palaoa. The beaches of Kualoa on O‘ahu were a major collection point for whale ivory and as such this ‘āina was considered the spot to control in order to possess all of O‘ahu. (Bishop Museum)

Kaʻōpulupulu also strongly stated that if Kahahana had obtained the kingdom by conquest, he might do as he liked, but having been chosen by the Oʻahu chiefs, it would be wrong in him to cede to another the national emblems of sovereignty and independence. Kahahana and the chiefs agreed with Kaʻōpulupulu’s arguments, decided not to comply with the Kahekili’s demands.

All seemed OK, for a while.  When war broke out between Kalaniopuʻu of Hawaiʻi Island and Kahekili in 1779, Kahahana had come to the aid of Kahekili.

Later, things soured.

“At that time, Kahekili was plotting for the downfall of Kahahana and the seizure of Oʻahu and Molokai, and the queen of Kauai was disposed to assist him in these enterprises.”  (Kalākaua)

In a meeting between Kahahana and Kahekili, Kahekili deceived Kahahana by having him believe Kaʻōpulupulu had offered the government and throne of Oʻahu to him (Kahekili), but that out of affection for his nephew he had refused; and he intimated strongly that Kaʻōpulupulu was a traitor to Kahahana.

Kahahana believed the falsehoods and it subsequently caused friction between Kahahana and Kaʻōpulupulu and the Oʻahu King turned a deaf ear to his kahuna’s advice and by the later part of 1782 or beginning of 1783, he arranged to have Kaʻōpulupulu killed.

With his main obstacle removed, Kahekili prepared for an invasion against Oʻahu and Kahahana.  He landed at Waikīkī in the beginning of 1783.  Kahekili, dividing his forces in three columns, marched from Waikīkī by Pūowaina (Punchbowl,) Pauoa and Kapena to battle Kahahana and his forces.

Kahahana’s army was routed, and he and his wife fled to the mountains.  For nearly two years or more they wandered over the mountains, secretly aided, fed and clothed by his supporters.  Kahekili’s warriors finally found and killed Kahahana.

Kahekili and his eldest son and heir-apparent, Kalanikūpule, conquered Kahahana, adding Oʻahu under his control.   (Kahekili’s son, Kalanikūpule, inherited his kingdom; Oʻahu was later lost to Kamehameha in the Battle of Nuʻuanu (1795.))

The image shows Kualoa (KualoaRanch.)  Lots of information here from Kamakau and Fornander.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Mormon Mission

New England Congregationalists first brought Protestant Christianity to the Islands in 1820.  Roman Catholic missionaries came to Hawaiʻi in 1827.  Quakers came in 1835; Methodists came in 1855 and members of the Church of England arrived in 1862.

As early as 1844, missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (popularly called the Mormons or LDS Church) were working among the Polynesians in Tahiti and surrounding islands.

“The Mormons are said to have commenced their mission in 1850. Their converts are scattered over all the islands.   They number about nine per cent of all those who in the census returns have reported their religious affiliations.  This mission owns a small sugar plantation at Laie, on the island of Oʻahu.”  (The Friend, December 1902)

The Church traces its beginnings to Joseph Smith, Jr.  On April 6, 1830 in Western New York, Smith and five others incorporated The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fayette, New York.

In the summer of 1850, in California, elder Charles C Rich called together more elders to establish a mission in the Sandwich Islands.  They arrived December 12, 1850.  Later, more came.

The first gathering place for Mormon missionaries was established in the Palawai Basin on the island of Lānaʻi, in 1854.  By 1855, the church claimed about 4,650 Hawaiian converts with more than 50 organized congregations scattered through several villages in the Islands.

In 1855, a Hawaiian edition of the Book of Mormon was printed through the help of George Q. Cannon, William Farrer and a native Hawaiian named Jonatana H. Napela.  (Mormonism Research Ministry)

In March 1865, Brigham Young (President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1847 until his death in 1877,) in a letter to King Kamehameha V, requested permission to locate an agricultural colony in Lāʻie. The king granted his request.

That year, Mormon missionaries (Francis Asbury Hammond and George Nebeker) purchased 6,000-acres of the ahupuaʻa of Laiewai to Laiemaloʻo (in Koʻolauloa) from Mr. Thomas T Dougherty for the Mormon Church.

One thousand acres were arable the remaining land was used for woodland and pasture for 500-head of cattle, 500-sheep, 200-goats and 25-horses (which were all included in the price ($14,000.))

At the time, sugar production was growing in scale; in addition to farming for food for the mission, the Lāʻie land was considered to have a good potential for growing sugar cane.

In 1867, the first sugar cane was planted; in 1868 a mule-powered mill was installed.  This provided income and financial sustainability.  A new mill was built in 1881 and production increased.  Sugar provided the positive economic impact and gave financial support to the Mormon Church in Hawaiʻi.

The sugar produced at the mill had to be transferred by oxen teams to a landing where it was placed on a small boat carried through the surf and loaded on a steamship for transport to JT Waterhouse Company, agent of the plantation, in Honolulu.

Part of the area of the plantation now serves as the location for the Hawaiʻi Temple, the campus of Brigham Young University-Hawaii and one of the most popular locations in Hawaiʻi for visitors, the Polynesian Culture Center.

On October 16, 1875, the Mormon Church organized Brigham Young Academy at Provo, Utah. It eventually became Brigham Young University.  On September 26, 1955, the Mormons started the two-year “Church College of Hawaiʻi” (CCH) in Lāʻie in war surplus buildings with 153 students and 20 faculty/administrators.

In 1889, several Hawaiian members of the Mormon faith were interested in being closer to the temples and headquarters of the Church in Utah and left Hawaiʻi and established the Iosepa Colony in Tooele County’s Skull Valley.

“Iosepa,” meaning Joseph in Hawaiian and named for the Mormon prophet Joseph Smith and for Joseph F Smith, who went to the Hawaiian Islands as a missionary in 1854.

Former Queen Liliʻuokalani was baptized a member of the LDS Church on July 7, 1906.

The LDS Temple in Lāʻie – started in 1915 and dedicated on Thanksgiving Day 1919 – was the first such temple to be built outside of continental North America.

The 47,224-square-foot temple’s exterior is concrete made of crushed lava rock from the area and tooled to a white cream finish.  It attracted more islanders from throughout the South Pacific.

Utah’s Iosepa Colony lasted as a community until 1917, at which time the residents returned to Hawaiʻi where the Hawaiian Mormon Temple was under construction.

By the 1920s, LDS Church missionaries had carried their Christian teachings to all the major island groups of Polynesia, by living among the people and speaking their languages.

In 1960, CCH students performed in “The Polynesian Panorama” at the Kaiser Dome in Waikīkī (this program was the forerunner to the performances at Polynesian Cultural Center.)

Then in 1963, the Polynesian Cultural Center opened in Lāʻie.  On April 13, 1974, Church College of Hawaiʻi was renamed Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi Campus.

There are now about 75,000-Mormons living in Hawaiʻi, or about 5 percent of the overall population.  There are 143 congregations, two temples and 26-Family Centers.

Worldwide Church membership today is over 17-million; 88,000-Mormon missionaries are currently serving in 350 missions.

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by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Polynesian Cultural Center

“The Mormons are said to have commenced their mission in 1850. Their converts are scattered over all the islands.   They number about nine per cent of all those who in the census returns have reported their religious affiliations.  This mission owns a small sugar plantation at Laie, on the island of Oʻahu.”  (The Friend, December 1902)

The Mormon mission purchased approximately 6,000-acres of land in Lāʻie in 1865; at the time, sugar production was growing in scale; in addition to farming for food for the mission, the Lāʻie land was considered to have a good potential for growing sugar cane.

In 1867, the first sugar cane was planted and was later expanded with the Lāʻie Plantation.  Sugar provided the positive economic impact and gave financial support to the Mormon Church in Hawaiʻi.  However, in the 1920s, the plantation had financial problems and the Church later leased sugar lands to Kahuku Plantation Company.

As the Lāʻie sugar industry declined, tourism to Hawaiʻi was growing,

Looking for new sources of revenue to the Church and its members, they looked to exploit the tourism market through the ‘hukilau’ at Lāʻie Bay (visitors pulling (huki) an arced net with leaves (lau) from the beach -to pull [a] rope with ti leaves [and a net attached.])

Each hukilau attracted several hundred tourists from Honolulu.  After the tourists helped pull the nets and the fish to shore, the residents of Lāʻie entertained them with songs, dances, activities, storytelling and feasting.  (Webb)

Then, in 1955, the Mormons started the “Church College of Hawaiʻi” (CCH) in Lāʻie (in 1974, the school changed its name to Brigham Young University-Hawaiʻi Campus (BYU-Hawaiʻi.)  Church officials looked for ways to provide jobs for the growing student population.

The success of the hukilau and the diversity and number of Polynesian students at the College led to expanded entertainment, including free tram rides to the nearby temple grounds.

In 1959 students and faculty at the Church College of Hawaiʻi organized the “Polynesian Institute” (later renamed “Polynesian Panorama”) and took the show on the road.  CCH students performed first at the International Market Place, then put on larger performances in the Kaiser Hawaiian Dome in Waikīkī.

Two years of shuttling Church College students back and forth to Waikiki for performances convinced decision-makers that a spirited, tourist-oriented Polynesian revue with a student cast was definitely marketable. And although some argued that La’ie was too far from Honolulu, others insisted that the success of the hukilau demonstrated that they could draw audiences large enough to make the venture profitable.  (Webb)

The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) was born.

Over 100 “labor missionaries” volunteered to help build the Polynesian Cultural Center’s original 39 structures on a 12-acre site that had previously been planted in taro. Skilled artisans and original materials from the South Pacific were imported to ensure the authenticity of the village houses.

When it opened on October 12, 1963, the PCC adopted some of the successes of the hukilau. The general pattern of cultural activities, a sumptuous meal and a culminating performance of songs and dances became the basic PCC program. Many of those who performed at the hukilau became part of the Center’s original cast.  (Webb)

Since opening, million of visitors have been introduced to the Polynesian people, their arts and customs, and tens of thousands of BYU-Hawaiʻi students have helped finance their educational objectives while working as the friendly guides, performers and other PCC employees serving people from all over the world.

Each of the major Polynesian cultures has its own section, centered on a traditional village. Hourly performances and cultural learning experiences take place in these villages. Villages include:  Hawaii, Samoa, Aotearoa (present-day New Zealand,) Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga and the Marquesas Islands.

In addition to the villages, the PCC has a special exhibit dedicated to Rapa Nui (Easter Island or Isla de Pascua) and a tribute to the 1850s LDS mission.

Over the years, the program and PCC footprint expanded.  An amphitheater built in 1975 now seats almost 2,800 guests.  A 1,000-seat restaurant opened in 1979, and IMAX films, shopping plaza and other features were added.

Now, there are things to do and shows to see, day and night (with Kamaʻaina rates).

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