Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 10, 1 October 1995 — City, private sector hope to "hoʻohawaiʻi" Waikīkī [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

City, private sector hope to "hoʻohawaiʻi" Waikīkī

by JeffClark To some, Waikīkī may not feel very Hawaiian these days - the district onee known for Ka'iulani and lo'i kalo is now congested by crowds, car homs and concrete — but city govemment and the private sector are trying to "ho'ohawai'i" the area. Looking to the past as a way of creating a more "cultural" future, the city's Office of Waikīk! Development is coordinating the development of a historical trail that will link some two dozen of the area's notable Hawaiian sites. Brochures will guide trekkers from site to site and markers will designate eaeh stop. The joumey begins at the zoo, touches the Ala Wai, retums ma kai and mns 'ewa along the beach, and then comes to an end at the yet-to-be-built convention center. Like a thread stringing strewn blossoms into a flower lei, the trail will link the home sites of Hawaiian monarchs, traditional and modem surfing breaks, the Moana Hotel, and the "Wizard Stones" (Editor's note: see "'Wizard Stones' a kipuka of culture in

Waikiki," Ka Wai Ola O OHA, August 1995). The trail will also take walkers to ancient fishpond sites, and calls for the erection of a statue or bust of Princess Ka'iulani at Ka'iulani Triangle Park where her residence, 'Āinahau, onee stood. George Kanahele, author, businessman and Hawaiian culture consultant, eame up with the idea for an historical trail while preparing a report for the Queen Emma Foundation titled "Restoring Hawaiianness to Waikīkī." The foundation, whieh owns prime land in Waikīkī, asked Kanahele to recommend ways to bring out the area's seemingly dormant Hawaiian ambiance. Said Kanahele in the report, "Think of the trail as both a classroom and a curriculum dealing with the history, environment and amhianee of Waikīkī. The trail is not a physieal thing - there is no actual paved pathway. ... "The trail is another important means to make Waikīkī an object and a plaee for eultural leaming. This should mitigate the negative effects of it being perceived as just a shopping mall." Christina Kemmer, executive director of the city's Office of Waikīkī Development, said the $50,000 for markers appropriated by Oouneilman Duke Bainum will be matched by the private sector, and three donors have already made committments. Kemmer hopes hotels and businesses located adjacent to the sites will "adopt" markers and set aside space in their lobbies to display related photos and memorabilia.

Above, visitors frame a memory with Duke Kahanamoku, the father of modem surfing. After this eouple returns home, their photo album will hold an important symbol of Hawaiian culture.

Below, Gary and Retha Sinclair, tourists visiting from Nashua, New Hampshire, gaze out at wave riders at The Wall, one of the modern surfing sites whose name and story will be told by markers and a brochure as part of the city's plans to establish a historical trail. Photos by Jeff Clark