Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [63]
In December 1899 bubonic plague broke out in Chinatown. As the plague spread, the all-powerful Board of Health ordered the Honolulu Fire Department to burn the wooden buildings on the mauka (inland) side of Beretania St between Nu′uanu Ave and Smith St. But the wind suddenly picked up and the fire spread out of control, racing toward the waterfront on January 20, 1900. Nearly 40 acres of Chinatown burned to the ground, leaving 4000 residents temporarily homeless.
In the early 1900s, Honolulu continued to grow as a commercial center. The next decades saw a revival of Hawaiian culture, as the sounds of falsetto voices and steel guitars filled the airwaves of territorial radio. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Honolulu experienced a cultural, political and economic clampdown on Japanese American residents by military leaders.
Today this modern metropolis dominates the government and cultural life of the state. Environmental issues are often at the forefront of the agenda, including questions about where to build new landfills without polluting groundwater, whether garbage should just be shipped to the US mainland, and how the environmental impacts of cruise ships docked at Honolulu Harbor can be mitigated. In 2008 voters approved a controversial new commuter-rail system that has yet to be built.
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ORIENTATION
The City & County of Honolulu sprawls along the south shore of O′ahu. The city proper is generally considered to extend west to the airport and east to Kaimuki.
Two major thoroughfares run the length of the city: Ala Moana Blvd (Hwy 92) skirts the coast from the airport to Waikiki, and the H-1 Fwy runs east–west between the beach and the mountains. In between are several grids bisected by one-way streets overlapping at irregular angles, making navigation within central Honolulu difficult.
Heading into downtown Honolulu, King St (one-way heading southeast) and Beretania St (one-way heading northwest) are primary conduits. Downtown houses O′ahu’s government buildings, including the state capitol, and ′Iolani Palace.
Chinatown is immediately north of downtown Honolulu, roughly bounded by the harbor, Bethel St, Vineyard Blvd and River St. The landmark Aloha Tower and cruise-ship terminals sit makai (oceanside, or seaward) of Chinatown.
Kapi‘olani Blvd and University Ave are the main thoroughfares connecting the Ala Moana area and University of Hawai′i campus, situated in the Manoa Valley underneath the Ko′olau Mountains.
Southeast of downtown Honolulu, Waikiki is the tourist epicenter, and just beyond it is Diamond Head, a striking geological landmark. Waikiki is contained within the boundaries of Honolulu, but is covered later in this chapter (Click here).
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INFORMATION
Bookstores
Bestsellers (Map; 528-2378; 1001 Bishop St; 7:30am-5:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat) Good selection of travel guides, novels and maps.
Borders (Map; 591-8995; Victoria Ward Centre, 1200 Ala Moana Blvd; 10am-11pm Mon-Thu, 10am-midnight Fri, 9am-midnight Sat, 9am-10pm Sun; ) Extensive newspaper, magazine and travel sections.
Native Books/Nā Mea Hawaii (Map; 597-8967; www.nativebookshawaii.com; Ward Warehouse, 1050 Ala Moana Blvd; 10am-9pm Mon-Sat, to 6pm Sun) Specializes in Hawaiiana books, CDs/DVDs and gifts; also holds cultural performances, author readings and classes (Click here).
Rainbow Books & Records (Map; 955-7994; www.rainbowbookshawaii.com; 1010 University Ave; 10am-10pm Sun-Thu, to 11pm Fri & Sat) New and used books, CDs and records near the University of Hawai′i.
Emergency
Police (529-3111) For