Honolulu Travel Guide

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous community of the State of Hawaii. In the Hawaiian language, honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter." The census-designated place (CDP) is located along the southeast coast of the island of Oahu. The term also refers to the District of Honolulu (see Geography below). As of July 1, 2004, the United States Census Bureau estimate for Honolulu puts the population at 377,260 and that of the city and county (essentially, the Island of Oahu) at 900,000. In Hawaii, local governments operate only at the county level, and the City & County of Honolulu encompasses all of the Island of Oahu (approximately 600 square miles).

Honolulu Tourist Attractions

Bishop Museum - The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Founded in 1889, it is the largest museum in Hawaii and is home to the world's largest collection of Polynesian cultural and scientific artifacts. Besides the comprehensive exhibits of Hawaiiana, the Bishop Museum has an extensive entomological collection of over 13.5 million specimens, third largest collection in the United States.

Diamond Head - Diamond Head is the name of a tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oahu and known to Hawaiians as Leahi (photograph at right). Its English name was given by British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds. Many tourists in Hawaii believe that Diamond Head is a volcano when it really isn't. It is located on the coast east of Waikiki in Honolulu.

Diamond Head is a defining feature of the view known to residents and tourists of Waikiki alike. The volcanic cone also serves as a United States State Monument. Its proximity to the resort hotels and beaches of the city make it a popular destination for people traveling to the city. A short hike leads to the edge of the crater's rim, from which point both the city of Waikiki and the Pacific Ocean can be seen in breathtaking detail.

As symbol of worldwide recognition for the Hawaiian Islands, it is not surprising that the name Diamond Head is widely used for commercial purposes (see Diamond Head (film) and Diamond Head (band)). Many souvenirs from Hawaii and surf shop logos across the globe bear the volcano's distinctive silhouette.

Hawaii State Art Museum - Hawaii State Art Museum (HISAM) is located in the downtown district in the old YMCA building and features local artists. Blessed with both a great collection and a competent house staff.

Honolulu Academy of Arts - The Honolulu Academy of Arts was chartered in 1922 by Mrs. Charles Montague Cooke (Anna Rice), who desired to share her love for the arts with the children of Honolulu and Hawaii. Since the doors opened April 8, 1927, the Academy has steadily grown to become Hawaii’s largest private presenter of visual arts programs, boasting a permanent collection of over 40,000 works of art from cultures around the world.

Perhaps most well-known for its collection of Asian art, especially Japanese and Chinese works, the Honolulu Academy of Arts is internationally recognized for the excellence and diversity of its holdings. The Academy is especially known for its Kress Collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, American and European paintings and decorative arts, art of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, textiles, contemporary art, and an extensive graphics collection of over 23,000 works on paper. Other notable collections include the James A. Michener Collection of ukiyo-e prints and the Hawaiian collection, which chronicles the history of art in Hawaii. The permanent collection is presented in 32 galleries, which surround six beautiful courtyards.

Honolulu Zoo - The Honolulu Zoo is the principal zoological institution of research of Hawaii in the City & County of Honolulu. It is the only zoo in the United States to be established by grants made by a sovereign monarch. Built on part of a 300 acre (1.2 km²) royal park in Waikiki known as Queen Kapi'olani Park, the Honolulu Zoo now features over 1,230 animals in specially designed habitats.

Over 750,000 people visit the zoo annually. The institution is administered by the Honolulu Zoo Society, a non-profit organization, and is maintained by a corps of volunteers. The zoo is owned by the City & County of Honolulu through the Auditoriums Department.

Lyon Arboretum - The Lyon Arboretum is a 200-acre (80-hectare) botanical garden managed by the University of Hawaii at Manoa and located at the upper end of Manoa Valley in Hawaii. The Arboretum is open to the public on weekdays from 9 AM to 4 PM; admission is free.

Much of the Arboretum's botanical collection consists of an artificial lowland tropical rainforest with numerous trails and small water features.

Today, the Arboretum continues to develop its extensive tropical plant collection, while emphasizing native Hawaiian plants, such as Pritchardia spp. (palms). Native and Polynesian cultivated and wild species are displayed in the ethnobotanical, native ecosystems, and Hawaiian sections of the gardens.

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific - The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (also Punchbowl National Cemetery) is a cemetery located in Honolulu, Hawaii that serves a memorial to those men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces. It is administered by the National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Thousands of visitors visit the cemetery each year, and it is one of the more popular tourist attractions in Hawai'i. The global coordinates of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific are 21°18′44.46″N, 157°50′45.91″W.

The cemetery is located in Punchbowl Crater (Puowaina in Hawaiian), located just north of downtown Honolulu. In ancient times Punchbowl was used as a site for human sacrifices, and pū-o-waina means "hill of placing (human sacrifices)."

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific contains a memorial pathway that is lined with a variety of memorials that honor America's veterans from various organizations. As of 2005, there were 63 such memorials throughout the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific—most commemorating soldiers of 20th-century wars, including those killed at Pearl Harbor.

Shangri La (Doris Duke) - Shangri La is the name of an Islamic-style mansion built by heiress Doris Duke near Diamond Head just outside Honolulu, Hawaii. It is now owned by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA) in cooperation with the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and open to the public for tours; an admission fee is charged.

Construction of Shangri La began in 1937, after Doris Duke's 1935 honeymoon which took her through the Islamic world. For nearly 60 years afterwards, Miss Duke commissioned and collected artifacts for the house, forming a collection of about 3,500 objects.

Waikiki Aquarium - The Waikiki Aquarium is one of the premier marine science institutions in the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii. Founded on March 19, 1904, this marine aquarium is the third oldest public aquarium in the United States. Since 1919, the Waikīkī Aquarium has been an institution of the University of Hawaii System.

Situated beside a living coral reef on the Waikīkī shoreline, the Waikīkī Aquarium is home to more than 3,055 organisms of 464 species of marine plants and animals. Each year, over 350,000 people visit. The Waikīkī Aquarium was designated a Coastal Ecosystem Learning Center of the Coastal America Partnership federal program.

Waikiki Beach - Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikiki and one of the best known beaches in the world. The beach has had its problems because of groynes build-out from the shore. This has led to beach replenishment projects in the past. In the 1920s and 1930s sand was obtained from Manhattan Beach, California, and transported via ship and barges to Waikiki. One disastrous sand replenishment project involved a man-made sand that the gentle surf turned into a concrete-like surface.

Neighborhoods and Special Districts of Honolulu

Downtown Honolulu - Downtown Honolulu is the financial, commercial, and governmental center of Hawaii. On the waterfront is Aloha Tower, which for many years was the tallest building in Hawaii. Currently the tallest building is the 438-foot-tall (134 m) First Hawaiian Center, located on King and Bishop Streets.

Downtown Honolulu is the current and historic central part of Honolulu—bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor to the south—situated within the larger Honolulu District. In downtown Honolulu are found both modern and historic buildings and complexes, many of the latter declared National Historic Landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.
 

The Capitol District is the eastern part of Downtown Honolulu. It is the current and historic center of Hawaii's state government, incorporating the Hawaii State Capitol, Iolani Palace, Honolulu Hale (City Hall), State Library, and the statue of King Kamehameha I, along with numerous government buildings.
 

Kakaako is a light-industrial district between Downtown and Waikiki that has seen a large-scale redevelopment effort in the past decade. It is home to two major shopping areas, Ward Warehouse and Ward Centre. The John A. Burns School of Medicine, part of the University of Hawaii at Manoa is also located there. A Memorial to the Ehime Maru Incident victims is built at Kakaako Waterfront Park.

Kakaako is the name of a commercial and retail district of Honolulu, Hawaii nestled between Ala Moana near Waikīkī to the east, downtown Honolulu and Honolulu Harbor to the west. Kakaako is situated along the southern shores of the island of Oahu and features a vast stretch of waterfront.

Once a light industrial district with numerous dilapidated warehouses, in recent decades Kakaako has been the focus of a major urban renewal effort, led by the Hawaii Community Development Authority.

The civic centers of Kakaako are Victoria Ward Centers and the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Across the street from Victoria Ward Centers is the newly constructed campus of the John A. Burns School of Medicine and the future home of the William S. Richardson School of Law. Other facilities currently under construction at Kakaako are a state of the art aquarium, ocean science center and ocean park. Kakaako is currently a hot bed of development with ambitious and modern image-setting projects. The main roads through Kakaako are Ala Moana Boulevard and Kapiolani Boulevard.
 

Waikiki is the world famous tourist district of Honolulu, located between the Ala Wai Canal and the Pacific Ocean next to Diamond Head. Numerous hotels, shops, and nightlife opportunities are located along Kalakaua and Kuhio Avenues. World-famous Waikiki Beach attracts millions of visitors a year. Just west of Waikiki is Ala Moana Center, the world's largest open-air shopping center. A majority of the hotel rooms on Oahu are located in Waikiki.

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City & County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the Island of Oahu, Hawaii. Waikiki extends from the Ala Wai Canal (a channel dug to drain former wetlands) on the west and north, to Diamond Head or Leahi on the east. The name means spouting water in Hawaiian for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior. Waikiki has long been a place of relaxation. In particular, the area was a retreat for Hawaiian royalty in the 1800s.

Today it is considered the center of the tourist industry in Hawaii, with an abundance of both high-rise resort hotels (including the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the Halekulani hotel, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, and the Sheraton Waikiki) and historic hotels dating back to the early 20th century (such as the Moana Surfrider Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel).
 

Manoa - Residential neighborhood located in adjacent valleys just inland of downtown and Waikiki. Manoa Valley is home to the main campus of the University of Hawaii.

Manoa is a valley and a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, USA approximately three miles east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile from Ala Moana and Waikīkī at 21°19′N 157°49′W. Like many of Hawaii's neighborhoods, Manoa consists of an entire valley, running from Manoa Falls at the mauka end to King Street at its makai-most extreme. The valley receives almost daily rain, even during the dry season, and is thus richly vegetated & dash though the valley walls are often dry.

The neighborhood is composed of private houses built before the 1960s and low-rise condominiums. Manoa is home to the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the flagship campus of the University of Hawaii System. The University has several faculty and student residence areas in Manoa. The civic center of Manoa is the Manoa Marketplace which features a farmer's market several days of the week. More recent development has seen housing on steeper parts of the Diamond Head side valley wall.

Manoa is the site of the first sugarcane and coffee plantations in the Hawaiian Islands. John Wilkinson (planter) tended the first crops in 1825. Today, coffee is one of the most precious agricultural products from Hawaii. Hawaii is the only state that produces coffee commercially in the country.

Makiki - Makiki is an urban residential district of Honolulu, Hawaii stretching from downtown Honolulu to Manoa and Waikiki, bounded to the north by Makiki Heights and Makiki Valley and to the south by Ala Moana and Kakaako. Residents of Makiki are largely Japanese American followed by smaller groups of Caucasians and Korean Americans. Punchbowl and Tantalus, extinct shield volcanoes, tower over the Makiki neighborhood. Recently, three people (a taxi driver and two bystanders) were shot to death at the Round Top lookout.

Nuuanu and Pauoa are middle-class to upper-middle-class residential districts located inland of downtown Honolulu. The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located in Punchbowl Crater fronting Pauoa Valley.
 

Palolo and Kaimuki are neighborhoods east of Manoa and Makiki, inland from Diamond Head. Palolo Valley parallels Manoa and is a residential neighborhood. Kaimuki is primarily a residential neighborhood with a commercial strip centered on Waialae Avenue running behind Diamond Head. Chaminade University is located in Kaimuki.
 

Waialae and Kahala are the upper-class districts of Honolulu located directly east of Diamond Head, where there are many high-priced homes. Also found in these neighborhoods are the Waialae Country Club and the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
 

East Honolulu includes the residential communities of Aina Haina, Niu Valley, and Hawaii Kai. These are considered upper-middle-class neighborhoods.
 

Kalihi and Palama are working-class neighborhoods with a number of government housing developments. Lower Kalihi, toward the ocean, is a light-industrial district.

Kalihi (meaning, "the edge", in Hawaiian) is a neighborhood community of Honolulu on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Split by the Likelike Highway, it is flanked by downtown Honolulu to the east and Mapunapuna, Moanalua and Salt Lake to the west.

Kalihi is also the name of the ahupua‘a situated between Kahauiki and Kapālama in the Kona (now Honolulu) district of Oahu. The ahupua'a consisted of Kalihi Uka, Kalihi Waena and Kalihi Kai. Historically, Kalihi Kai was the site of the former Leprosy Receiving Station, where those suspected of leprosy were examined prior to treatment or being sent to Kalaupapa on the island of Moloka‘i. Kalihi was also known for its famous fishponds, ‘Āpili, Pahouiki, Pahounui, ‘Auiki, and Ananoho, near the present Sand Island Access Road (State Route 640) all of which have since been filled in. The harbormaster of Kamehameha I, Captain Alexander Adams, maintained a residence near the ‘Āpili pond.

Kalihi valley has been carved by Kalihi stream; it is narrow and steep in its upper reaches, but widens out to flatlands as it approaches Honolulu Harbor.

The lower valley has been a residential area for a considerable time, and is home to numerous tracts of older houses. It becomes commercial and maritime close to the water.
 

Salt Lake and Aliamanu are (mostly) residential areas built in extinct tuff cones along the western end of the Honolulu District, not far from the Honolulu International Airport.

Salt Lake is a suburban neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu. The area is also known as Āliamanu after a nearby crater, although Salt Lake itself is in a crater called Ālia pa‘akai — meaning "salt pond" in Hawaiian. The Salt Lake community was developed in the 1960s during the Hawaii construction boom, providing residents with an expansive view of downtown Honolulu and the sugarcane plantations of the central plain of Oahu. It is a community of high-rise condominiums, mid-rise town-dwellings, and houses snaking around the remnants of a now freshwater lake.
 

Moanalua is two neighborhoods and a valley at the western end of Honolulu, and home to Tripler Army Medical Center.

Moanalua is a valley, a stream, an ahupuaa, and a residential neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. The valley extends inland from behind Āliapaakai crater (Salt Lake) to the crest of the Koolau.

The Moanalua neighborhood includes a portion that extends up Ala Aolani Street into the valley, and another part that extends eastward along the lower slopes of the interfluve (slopes between valleys) to Fort Shafter and into the small valley of Manaiki Stream. The latter part includes Tripler Army Medical Center above the neighborhood and Moanalua Gardens below it.

Neighboring areas include Māpunapuna and Salt Lake on the south. Fort Shafter on the East, and Red Hill and Hālawa Valley on the west.
 

Hawaii Kai is a large residential area in the extreme eastern end of the island. The upscale gated community Hawaii Loa Ridge is located here.

Hawaii Kai is a largely residential area located in the City & County of Honolulu, in the District of Honolulu on the island of Oahu. Hawaii Kai is the largest of several communities at the eastern end of the island. The area was largely developed by Henry J. Kaiser around the ancient Maunalua fishpond and wetlands area known as Kuapa (meaning "fishpond wall"). The Hawaii Kai or Koko Marina was dredged from Kuapā Pond starting around 1959. Dredging not only transformed the shallow coastal inlet and wetlands into a marine embayment, but was accompanied by considerable filling and clearing of the pond margins. In 1961, Kaiser-Aetna entered into a lease agreement with the land owner, the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, to develop the 521 acre (2.11 km²) fishpond into residential tracts with a marina and channels separated by fingers of land and islands upon which house lots and commercial properties would be laid out and developed (ACOE, 1975). Nearly all of the low-lying lands surrounding the marina have since been developed, and neighborhoods now extend back into the several valleys and up the separating ridges.

Cultural Institutions in Honolulu

Performing Arts

Established in 1900, the Honolulu Symphony is the oldest US symphony orchestra west of the Rocky Mountains. Other classical music ensembles include the Hawaii Opera Theatre. Honolulu is also a center for Hawaiian music. The main music venues include the Neal Blaisdell Center Concert Hall, the Waikiki Shell, and the Hawaii Theatre.

Honolulu also includes several venues for live theater, including the Diamond Head Theatre and the Manoa Valley Theatre.

Visual Arts

Located near downtown Honolulu, the premier venue for visual arts in Hawaii is the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The Honolulu Academy of Arts features the largest collection of Western and Asian art in Hawaii and also hosts a year-round film and video program dedicated to the presentation of arthouse and world cinema in the museum's Doris Duke Theatre. The Contemporary Museum in Makiki is the main museum of contemporary art in the state.

Gardens

Foster Botanical Garden - Foster Botanical Gardens, measuring 13.5 acres (5.5 ha), is one of three botanical gardens located at 50 North Vineyard Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (near Chinatown at the intersection of Nu'uanu avenue and Vineyard Boulevard). Foster is unique in that it is in a highly urban area, with a Zippy's across the street, strip malls, schools, and both Buddhist and Methodist religious facilities.

The Garden is the oldest botanical garden in Hawaii, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It originated in 1853 when Queen Kalama leased 4.6 acres of land to William Hillebrand, a German physician and botanist who built his home and planted trees on the site. During his stay, he introduced a number of plants to Hawaii, as well as deer and mynah birds. Many of the large trees growing today on the Upper Terrace were Hillebrand's plantings. After 20 years Hillebrand returned to Germany, where he published Flora of the Hawaiian Islands in 1888. In 1884 the property was sold to Thomas and Mary Foster, who continued to develop the garden as their homesite. Upon her death in 1930, Mary Foster bequeathed the land and her home to the City and County of Honolulu, with the provision that the city accept and forever keep and properly maintain the (gardens) as a public and tropical park to be known and called Foster Park. At the time, the gardens were roughly 5.5 acres (2 ha).

Dr. Harold Lyon, the first director of Foster Garden, introduced thousands of new plants and trees to Hawaii, and started its famous orchid collection. Paul Weissich, director from 1957 to 1989, expanded Foster Garden to 14 acres (5.7 ha) of native plants and introduced plants in the heart of bustling downtown Honolulu, and developed four additional sites on Oahu Island to create the 650 acre (260 ha) Honolulu Botanical Gardens system. Taken as a whole, these five gardens feature rare species from tropical environments ranging from desert to rainforest, comprising the largest and most diverse tropical plant collection in the United States.

Today the garden consists of the Upper Terrace (the oldest part of the garden); Middle Terraces (palms, aroids, heliconias, gingers); Economic Garden (herbs, spices, dyes, poisons); Prehistoric Glen (primitive plants planted in 1965); Lyon Orchid Garden; and Hybrid Orchid Display. It also contains a number of exceptional trees, including a Sacred Fig which is a clone descendant of the Bodhi tree that Buddha sat under for inspiration. All told, it contains 25 of about 100 Oahu trees designated as exceptional.

The garden also contains two interesting memorials: a small replica of the Daibutsu of Kamakura commemorates 100 years of Japanese immigration to Hawaii, and a memorial stone notes the site of the first Japanese language school on Oahu, where an anti-aircraft shell exploded into an auditorium full of children during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Garden is the inspiration for a line in Joni Mitchell's 1970 folk song "Big Yellow Taxi": "Took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum / Then charge people a dollar and a half just to see 'em.". As of 2005, the current admission price for visitors to Hawaii is $5.

Liliuokalani Botanical Garden - The Liliuokalani Botanical Garden (7.5 acres) is a city park and young botanical garden located on North Kuakini Street, Honolulu, Hawaii. It is one of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens, and open daily without charge.

The garden's site was given to the City and County of Honolulu by Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii's last reigning monarch, and contains the Nuuanu Stream and Waikahalulu waterfall. It is under development to feature native Hawaiian plants.

Moanalua Gardens - Moanalua Gardens is a very popular garden visited by residents and tourists alike. Located just inland from the Moanalua Freeway (Exit 3), the garden is reached off Jarret White Road. The magnificent spread of old monkey pod trees shade the green and relaxing lawn. Inside the garden there are also a stream, a taro patch, and a koi pond for visitors to enjoy.

Walker Estate - The Walker Estate is located amongst the cool mountain breezes of upper Nu’uanu Valley, Honolulu. The house was built in 1903 by George Rodiek, of Hackfield and Co., a naturalised German immigrant. Paradise of the Pacific rated it as “the finest residence put up this year” by Paradise of the Pacific in 1903. Originally the estate comprised of a two-story home with a series of gardens featuring ferns, rocks, orchards generally regarded as the oldest formal Japanese garden in Honolulu. Rodiek served as German consul as well as president of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association. But in 1917 he was accused of involvement in the Hindu German Conspiracy to foment revolution in India. Though subsequently given a presidential pardon, he sold the house and moved with his family to San Francisco, never to return. The house was later owned by Henry Alexander Walker, president of American Factors, the successor firm to Hackfeld and Co., and another president of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Association.

In 1973 the house was accepted for the National Register listed as a "valuable historic property" by Hawaii Historic Places. Una Walker, Henry's widow, maintained the premises by making the grounds available for weddings and visitors. The gardens were closed to the public in 1983, and thehouse and its 5.86-acre grounds were sold in 1989, two years after Una's death. The new owner, Masao Nangaku of Minami Group (USA) Inc. bought the estate for $8.5 million. His intention was to restore the original house to be used as a corporate retreat. The renovated the house and received a Preservation Honor Award from the Historic Hawaii Foundation and a Grand Award in the Building Industry of America's Renaissance competition. After Nangaku experienced financial problems, Richard Fried and partners took the property over and in 1998 asked for planninmg permission to build a chapel to faciltate weddings on the site. This was refused, and the estate was sold to Holy-eye the same day. In 2005 Holy-Eye listed the estate for sale, asking $12.9 million.

In September 2006, concern was raised that the builing might be demolished by developers TR Partners and replaced by 20 new homes.

Sports

Currently, Honolulu has no professional sports teams. However, Honolulu hosts the NFL's annual Pro Bowl each February in addition to the NCAA football Hawaii Bowl. Fans of spectator sports in Honolulu generally support the football, volleyball, basketball, and baseball programs of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. High school sporting events, especially football, are especially popular. Venues for spectator sports in Honolulu include:

Aloha Stadium (football)

Les Murakami Stadium at UH-Manoa (baseball)

Stan Sheriff Center at UH-Manoa (basketball and volleyball)

Neal Blaisdell Center Arena (basketball)

Honolulu's mild climate lends itself to year-round fitness activities as well. In 2004, Men's Fitness magazine named Honolulu the fittest city in the U.S. Honolulu is also home to three large road races:

The Great Aloha Run is held annually on Presidents' Day.

The Honolulu Marathon, held annually on the second Sunday in December, draws more than 20,000 participants each year, about half to two thirds of them from Japan.

The Honolulu Triathlon held its first race in 2004, when it hosted the US Olympic Triathlon Trials, and is billed as Hawaii's premier Olympic-distance triathlon. No sprint course is offered during the event, which is held in May.

Honolulu Colleges & Universities

University of Hawaii Manoa - The University of Hawaii, formally the University of Hawaii System and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, doctoral and post-doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment training center, three university centers, four education centers and various other research facilities distributed across six islands throughout the State of Hawaiʻi in the United States. All schools of the University of Hawaii system are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Chaminade University - Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private coeducational university in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, a Roman Catholic religious order also known as the Marianists, Chaminade is located in the historic Kaimuki district of Honolulu. It is near other notable Roman Catholic schools, Sacred Hearts Academy and Saint Louis School. Chaminade confers both bachelor's and master's degrees in the major arts and sciences subjects. The school specializes in business, communication, education, interior design, law and religious studies degree programs.

Hawaii Pacific University - Hawaii Pacific University (also known as HPU) is a private coeducational university in Honolulu, Hawaii, founded in 1965 as Hawaii Pacific College by Paul C.T. Loo, Eureka Forbes, Elizabeth W. Kellerman, and Reverend Edmond Walker.

Hawaii Pacific University is the largest private university in the central Pacific, most noted for its diverse student body of almost 9,000 students, representing over 190 countries. The school's largest academic programs are in nursing and business administration.

Hawaii Pacific University has two main campuses and access to several scientific facilities. HPU is anchored at the downtown Honolulu campus. This campus occupies much of Fort Street Mall and surrounds the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace. The university has offices and classrooms in some of Honolulu's most prominent buildings, including 1132 Bishop Street and the Finance Factors Center.

The Hawaii Loa campus is located near Castle Junction in Kāneohe, on the windward side of the Koolau. This campus was originally built by Hawaii Loa College, a liberal arts school that was purchased by Hawaii Pacific University in 1992. The campus is also referred to as the Windward campus. The Oceanic Institute is affiliated with HPU, thus providing HPU students with access to significant research programs in the marine and oceanic sciences.

HPU operates satellite campuses on Oahu's US military bases, including Pearl Harbor, Hickam Air Force Base, Tripler Army Medical Center, Camp H. M. Smith, Schofield Barracks, and Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Over 2000 HPU students take courses at these facilities.

Brigham Young University Hawaii - Brigham Young University Hawaii, is a private co-educational university in the town of Laie thirty-five miles from Honolulu, Hawaii on the windward coast of the island of Oahu in the United States. Brigham Young University Hawaii is an undergraduate institution that educates some 2,400 students from Asia, the Pacific islands, the U.S., and other parts of the world, representing over 70 countries. A campus of the Brigham Young University System anchored in Provo, Utah, Brigham Young University Hawaii is affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and named after the American religious leader, colonist, first territorial governor of Utah and founder of Salt Lake City. One of the foremost institutions of Brigham Young University Hawaii is the Polynesian Cultural Center, the largest living museum in the State of Hawaii.

Geography and Climate of Honolulu

Honolulu is located at 21°18'32" North, 157°49'34" West (21.308950, -157.826182)GR1. While this is clearly in the tropics, the climate (temperature and humidity) is moderated by the mid-ocean location and some cooling achieved by the California Current that passes through the islands much of year. The average daily low and high temperatures in January are 65/80 °F (18/27 °C) and in July are 74/88 °F (23/31 °C). Temperatures exceed 90 °F (32 °C) only rarely, with lows in the 50's °F (15 °C) occurring perhaps once or twice in a year. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Honolulu was 95 °F (35 °C) on September 19, 1994 and the coldest temperature ever recorded was 53 °F (11.6 °C) on January 31, 1998, 1972 and 1948 and on January 20, 1969 and on February 1 and February 2, 1976 and on February 9, 1981 and on February 12, 1983.

The Honolulu District is located on the southeast coast of Oahu between Makapuu and Halawa. The District boundary follows the Koolau crestline, so Makapuu Beach is in the Koolaupoko District. On the west, the district boundary follows Halawa Stream, then crosses Red Hill and runs just west of Aliamanu Crater, so that Aloha Stadium, Pearl Harbor (with the USS Arizona Memorial), and Hickam Air Force Base are actually all located in the island's Ewa District.

Most of the city's commercial and industrial developments are located on a narrow but relatively flat coastal plain, while numerous ridges and valleys located inland of the coastal plain divide Honolulu's residential areas into distinct neighborhoods: some spread along valley floors (like Manoa in Manoa Valley) and others climb the interfluvial ridges. Within Honolulu proper can be found several volcanic cones: Punchbowl, Diamond Head, Koko Head (includes Hanauma Bay), Koko Crater, Salt Lake, and Aliamanu being the most conspicuous.

Honolulu and Juneau, Alaska are the only two US state capitals that cannot be reached directly by road from the contiguous 48 States. Direct connections to these.

Demographics of Honolulu

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 371,657 people, 140,337 households, and 87,429 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,674.4/km² (4,336.6/mi²). There were 158,663 housing units at an average density of 714.8/km² (1,851.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 19.67% White; 1.62% Black or African American; 0.19% Native American; 55.85% Asian; 6.85% Pacific Islander; 0.89% from other races; and 14.93% from two or more races. 4.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 140,337 households, 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size is 3.23.

In Honolulu in 2000, the age distribution was 19.2% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city proper was $45,112, and the median income for a family was $56,311. Males had a median income of $36,631 versus $29,930 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,191. 11.8% of the population and 7.9% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 14.6% of those under the age of 18 and 8.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government of Honolulu

Originally governed by a Board of Supervisors, the City & County of Honolulu is administered under a mayor-council system of governance overseeing all municipal services: civil defense, driver licensing, emergency medical, fire, parks and recreation, police, sanitation, streets, vehicle registration, voter registration, water, among others. One of the largest municipal governments in the United States, the City & County of Honolulu has an annual operating budget of $1 billion.

The current mayor of Honolulu is Mufi Hannemann (term ends January 2009).

History of Honolulu

It is not known when Honolulu was first settled by the original Polynesian migrants to the archipelago. Oral histories and artifacts indicate that there was a settlement where Honolulu now stands in the 12th century. However, after Kamehameha I conquered Oahu in the Battle of Nuuanu Pali, he moved his royal court from the Island of Hawaii to Waikiki in 1804. His court later relocated, in 1809, to what is now downtown Honolulu.

Captain William Brown of England was the first foreigner to sail, in 1794, into what is now Honolulu Harbor. More foreign ships would follow, making the port of Honolulu a focal point for merchant ships traveling between North America and Asia.

In 1845, Kamehameha III moved the permanent capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom from Lahaina on Maui to Honolulu. He and the kings that followed him transformed Honolulu into a modern capital, erecting buildings such as St. Andrew's Cathedral, Iolani Palace, and Aliiolani Hale. At the same time, Honolulu became the center of commerce in the Islands, with descendants of American missionaries establishing major businesses in downtown Honolulu.

Despite the turbulent history of the late 19th century and early 20th century, which saw the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, Hawaii's subsequent annexation by the United States, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Honolulu would remain the capital, largest city, and main airport and seaport of the Hawaiian Islands.

An economic and tourism boom following statehood brought rapid economic growth to Honolulu and Hawaii. Modern air travel would bring thousands, eventually millions (per annum) of visitors to the Islands. Today, Honolulu is a modern city with numerous high-rise buildings, and Waikiki is the center of the tourism industry in Hawaii, with thousands of hotel rooms.

Honolulu Media

Newspapers

Honolulu is served by two daily newspapers: the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. It is one of the few cities of its size in the U.S. to have more than one daily newspaper.

Television
 

Full Power TV Channels
2 KHON (Fox)
4 KITV (ABC)
5 KFVE (MyNetworkTV)
9 KGMB (CBS)
10 KMEB (PBS)
11 KHET (PBS)
13 KHNL (NBC)
14 KWHE (independent)
20 KIKU (UPN)
26 KAAH (TBN)
38 KALO (Religious)
44 KWBN (Daystar)
50 KKAI (TBA)
56 KUPU (Religious)
66 KPXO

Low-Power TV Channels
42 K42CO
46 KHLU-LP (Univision)
48 KHHI-LP (HSN)
56 K56EX
64 K64FN

Digital TV Channels
8 KGMB
18 KHET
19 KIKU
22 KHON
23 KFVE
27 KAAH
31 KWHE
33 KBFD
35 KHNL
39 KALO
40 KITV
41 KPXO
43 KWBN

Radio Stations
 

17 AM radio stations
590 KSSK AM Adult Contemporary
650 KRTR Asian
690 KORL Ethnic
760 KGU Religious
830 KHVH News/Talk
870 KAIM Country
940 KKNE Ethnic
990 KHBZ Talk
1040 KLHT Religious
1080 KWAI Talk
1130 KRUD New;TBA
1170 KHCM Country
1210 KZOO Japanese Pop
1270 KNDI Ethnic
1370 KUPA Ethnic
1420 KKEA Sports
1460 KHRA Asian
1500 KUMU Talk
1540 KREA Asian

20 FM Radio Stations
88.1 KHPR Classical, News (National Public Radio)
89.3 KIPO News, Information, Jazz (National Public Radio)
90.3 KTUH Modern Rock, Progressive music
92.3 KSSK Adult Contemporary
93.1 KQMQ Top 40
93.9 KIKI Rhythmic Top 40
94.7 KUMU-FM Adult Contemporary
95.5 KAIM-FM Contemporary Christian
96.3 KRTR-FM Adult Top 40
97.5 KHNR Talk
98.5 KDNN Hawaiian Contemporary
99.5 KHUI Hawaiian Adult Contemporary
100.3 KCCN Hawaiian Top 40
101.1 KLHI Modern Rock
101.1 KXRG-LP Dance (Broadcasting daily from 2pm to 2am; one of nine full-time dance stations in the US)
101.9 KUCD Modern Rock
102.7 KDDB Rhythmic Top 40
104.3 KPHW Rhythmic Top 40
105.1 KINE Traditional Hawaiian
105.9 KPOI Classic Rock
107.9 KGMZ Oldies

Cable and Satellite Television
Oceanic-Time Warner Cable (a division of Time Warner Cable) is the primary cable television carrier in the Honolulu metropolitan area. Satellite television (DIRECTV, Dish Network, some C-Band) is also available as an alternative.