Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [270]
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Lahaina became the dominant port for whalers, not only in Hawaii but for the entire Pacific. The whaling years reached a peak in Lahaina in the 1840s, with hundreds of ships pulling into port each year. The town took on the whalers’ boisterous nature, opening dance halls, bars and brothels. When the whaling industry fizzled in the 1860s, Lahaina all but became a ghost town. In the 1870s sugarcane came to Lahaina and it remained the backbone of the economy until tourism took over in the 1960s.
ORIENTATION
The focal point of Lahaina is its harbor and the adjacent Banyan Tree Sq. The main drag and tourist strip is Front St, which runs along the shoreline. Most of Lahaina’s top sights, restaurants and entertainment venues are either on Front St or within a couple of blocks of it.
INFORMATION
Bookstores
Barnes & Noble ( 662-1300; Lahaina Gateway, cnr Keawe St & Honoapi′ilani Hwy) The island’s largest bookstore has a first-rate Hawaii section.
Old Lahaina Book Emporium ( 661-1399; 834 Front St; 10am-7pm) Bookworms, you’re in for a feast at Maui’s finest independent bookstore: new and used volumes plus vintage Hawaiiana.
Emergency
Police ( 244-6400) For nonemergencies.
Police, Fire & Ambulance ( 911)
Internet Access
Buns of Maui ( 661-5407; Old Lahaina Center, 880 Front St; per min 8¢; 7:30am-6pm) You’ll find Maui’s cheapest internet at this little café named for its delish cinnamon rolls.
Livewire Café ( 661-4213; 612 Front St; per 20min $3; 6am-9pm Mon-Sat, 7am-9pm Sun) Convenient location, good karma and coffee.
Laundry
Coin laundry (Limahana Pl; 24hr) Opposite the bakery.
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RIGHTEOUS & ROWDY
Lahaina owes much of its period appearance to two diametrically opposed groups of New Englanders who landed in the 1820s. In 1823 William Richards, Lahaina’s first missionary, converted Maui’s native governor, Hoapili, to Christianity and persuaded him to pass laws against ‘drunkenness and debauchery.’ After months at sea, however, sailors weren’t looking for a prayer service when they pulled into port – to them there was ‘no God west of the Horn.’ Missionaries and whalers almost came to battle in 1827 when Governor Hoapili arrested a whaler captain for allowing women to board his ship. The crew retaliated by shooting cannonballs at Richards’ house. The captain was released, but laws forbidding liaisons between seamen and Hawaiian women remained in force.
It wasn’t until Governor Hoapili’s death in 1840 that laws prohibiting liquor and prostitution were no longer enforced and whalers began to flock to Lahaina. Among the sailors who roamed Lahaina’s streets was Herman Melville, who later penned Moby Dick.
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Libraries
Lahaina Public Library ( 662-3950; 680 Wharf St; noon-8pm Tue, 9am-5pm Wed & Thu, 12:30-4:30pm Fri & Sat)
Media
Lahaina News ( 667-7866; www.lahainanews.com) This free weekly, easily found around town, has the scoop on Lahaina’s entertainment scene & local issues.
Medical Services
The Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku (Click here) is the nearest hospital in case of emergencies.
Longs Drugs ( 667-4384; Lahaina Cannery Mall, 1221 Honoapi′ilani Hwy; 7am-midnight) Lahaina’s largest pharmacy.
Maui Medical Group ( 249-8080; 130 Prison St; 8am-9pm Mon-Fri, 8am-noon Sat & Sun) This clinic handles nonemergencies.
Money
Both banks have 24-hour ATMs.
American Savings Bank ( 667-9561; 154 Papalaua St)
First Hawaiian Bank ( 661-3655; 215 Papalaua St)
Post
Downtown post office station (Old Lahaina Center, 32 Papalaua St; 8:15am-4:15pm Mon-Fri) Central if you’re in town, but longer lines and fewer parking spaces than Lahaina Post Office.
Lahaina Post Office ( 661-0904; 1760 Honoapi′ilani Hwy, Lahaina, HI 96761; 8:30am-5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) You’ll have to go to this post office north of town near the Lahaina Civic Center to pick up general-delivery mail (held 30 days) sent to Lahaina.
Tourist Information
Lahaina Visitor Center ( 667-9193; www.visitlahaina.com; 648 Wharf St; 9am-5pm) The gift shop in the Old Lahaina Courthouse doubles as the visitor information