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Imagine you had a dream the other day. You were showing a visiting friend around Oahu, but things were in the wrong place.
The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific was inside Diamond Head Crater. Inside Punchbowl was a sports stadium.
The Blaisdell Center was not on Ward Avenue. It was where Kamehameha Shopping Center is today, at School and Kalihi (now Likelike Highway) streets. The former Ward Estate at King Street and Ward Avenue featured a par-three golf course.
Across the street, mauka, the Bishop Museum and Hawaii State Library were in Thomas Square. Passersby acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Only you noticed things were wrong. Horribly wrong. You continued your tour.
The Hawai‘i Convention Center took up much of the Ala Wai Golf Course, and next to it was the Waikiki Shell. The Hawaii State Capitol occupied Aala Park, and where you expected it on Beretania Street, you found a gas station, car dealer and office buildings.
The Waialae Country Club was in Kuliouou Valley, and a tunnel in the back of the valley could take you to Waimanalo, where, off the coast, was an artificial island a mile long.
Other artificial islands could be found in Kaneohe Bay and from Ala Moana Beach to Keehi Lagoon. Some had hotels and bars on them. A small airstrip covered Magic Island. Six hotels dotted Ala Moana Regional Park.
You take your friend to the University of Hawaii, but you can’t find it in Manoa. You stop someone who asks if you’re joking. UH is on the Big Island, they tell you, near Mountain View, where it’s been since 1907!
Is this all a dream, you are wondering? No. It’s how Hawaii could have been if the public and planners had made different choices.
Many of these large, iconic places that define Honolulu had multiple proposed locations. If the winds had shifted, the above is how our state could have turned out. Here are some important institutions, their location today, and alternative locations that were considered.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
My alma mater, the University of Hawaii is, of course, safely in Manoa, where it’s been since 1912. Originally named the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts, it had a temporary location for five years at Beretania and Victoria streets, where the Honolulu Museum of Art School is today.
But, when it was being considered, planners thought that an agricultural school would need large amounts of land.
Its three proposed locations were Mountain View/Olaa, a 700-acre site on the Big Island, south of Hilo; North Kona; and Lahainaluna Seminary on Maui.
Officials pointed out that the agriculture would be intensive, not extensive, and that the college should be near where scientists and engineers lived, and the regents picked Manoa.
Hawaii State Capitol (Beretania and Punchbowl)
The executive and legislative branches of state government were outgrowing Iolani Palace in the post-war years.
Over 10 locations were considered. One thought was to add wings to Iolani Palace (no kidding) that would provide more office space.
Fort Armstrong, the Pier 1 and 2 site, was the wrong side of Ala Moana Boulevard and could be a traffic nightmare. Plus, a tsunami might wipe it out.
Architect Alfred Preis strongly supported Aala Park; Herbert K.L. Castle offered the former Hawaii Pacific University Kailua campus for free.
Other sites looked at included the Ward Estate; inside Punchbowl Crater; Fort Ruger, where Kapiolani Community College is today; Magic Island; the Ala Wai Golf Course; and Oahu Country Club.
The Beretania site was chosen because it was within walking distance of many legislator’s downtown offices.
Neal Blaisdell Auditorium and Concert Hall ( Ward Avenue and King Street)
The Civic Auditorium at 1314 S. King St. could hold 4,000 and had served Honolulu well for four decades, but a larger site was wanted.
Possible locations considered were the Ala Wai Golf Course, Kapiolani Park, inside Diamond Head Crater; Fort DeRussy; the Moiliili Quarry (the lower UH campus); Ala Moana Beach Park; the former Oahu Prison site in Iwilei; and the corner of School and Kalihi streets, where Kamehameha Shopping Center is today.
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl Crater)
Prior to World War II, Punchbowl was a national guard training site. The police also used its rifle and pistol range for target practice.
In 1924, Maj. William Hoopai, athletic director of the Hawaii National Guard, suggested building a 95,000-seat stadium in Punchbowl Crater.
He said it could be a perfect amphitheatre and could be transformed into a modern stadium at a small cost. And it was an ideal location in the center of the city. Interestingly, Aloha Stadium is 1,600 feet in diameter, including the rings of parking around it. Punchbowl Crater is also about 1,600 feet in diameter.
Instead, private developers built Honolulu Stadium at King and Isenberg streets. It opened in 1926.
Alternative proposed locations for the National Cemetery were inside Diamond Head Crater and Windward Oahu.
Hawai‘i Convention Center (Kapiolani/Kalakaua)
In the mid-1980s, serious debate raged about building a convention center and where to put it.
Proposed locations included the “usual suspects” Ala Wai Golf Course, Fort DeRussy, and Fort Armstrong.
The International Market Place was favored by some, but not the vendors who operated small kiosks there.
The Honolulu Zoo site was proposed. The zoo could be moved inside Diamond Head crater, some thought.
Other possibilities included the Kakaako waterfront; Ala Wai Gateway (between Ala Wai and Hobron Lane); the Magoon Estate (Kalakaua-Kuhio- Lewers street area; Magic Island; West Beach (Ewa); the Waikiki Shell site; Jefferson Elementary School; and even in Kona on Hawaii island.
The most bizarre idea, I think, was promoted by State Rep. Joan Hayes, who recommended building the convention center off Waikiki on a reef.
It would be a two-story structure on a circular platform with a diameter of 615 feet. The center would be built on pilings 16 feet above the waves, 450 to 600 yards offshore from Fort DeRussy.
People would walk to it on a bridge. Hayes said the structure could also include a restaurant, aquarium and an international stock exchange.
Fred Hemmings, a former champion surfer and canoe paddler, said such a center would wipe out some of Oahu’s best surfing spots.
Instead, the former location of Aloha Motors at Kapiolani Boulevard and Kala- kaua Avenue was chosen. It was vacant, so no one would have to be relocated, and was close to Waikiki hotels.
Aloha Stadium (Halawa)
Honolulu Stadium at King and Isenberg streets was small and aging. Supporters suggested many possible locations: The Ala Wai Golf Course; the University of Hawaii Quarry; Diamond Head Crater; Kapiolani Park; McKinley High School; Sand Island; Camp Catlin (near the airport); Keehi Lagoon Park; Ala Moana Park; and Fort Ruger.
It was called the Halawa Stadium when it was proposed, but when it opened in 1975, the name Aloha Stadium was chosen in a contest. Other possible names were Kamehameha Stadium, Rainbow Stadium, Poi Bowl and Hibiscus Bowl.
Waialae Country Club (Kahala)
The Bishop Estate, which owns most of Kahala, considered moving the Waialae Country Club to Kuliouou Valley in 1948. And, at one time or another, every valley from Halawa to Hawaii Kai was considered for a tunnel to the windward side.
It makes sense that several large tracts are considered over and over again, such as Fort DeRussy, Diamond Head Crater and the Moiliili Quarry.
It’s interesting to me that the Ala Wai Golf Course has resisted the siting of at least six major institutions. Maybe the golfers there have more political clout than we give them credit for.
I have just begun to scratch the surface of alternative locations of iconic places, but I’ll save them for another time.
The Rearview Mirror Insider is Bob Sigall’s now twice-weekly free email newsletter that gives readers behind-the-scenes background, stories that wouldn’t fit in the column, and lots of interesting details. Join and be an Insider at RearviewMirrorInsider.com. Mahalo!
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