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Waikiki

 
Dictionary: Wai·ki·ki   (wī'kĭ-kē') pronunciation
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A famous beach and resort district of Oahu Island, Hawaii, southeast of Honolulu. It is known for its fine surfing conditions.

 

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Waikiki
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Resort area, southern coast of Oahu island, Hawaii, U.S. Located in the southeastern section of Honolulu, near Diamond Head, its famous beach is lined with luxury hotels; it has water-sports facilities as well as an aquarium, a zoo, gardens, and the International Market Place. Waikiki is also the site of Fort DeRussy, a military recreation area.

For more information on Waikiki, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Waikiki
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Waikiki (wīkēkē'), famous beach and resort center SE of Honolulu on SE Oahu island, Hawaii. Tourism is the economic mainstay; Waikiki is known the world over for its beach and recreational facilities, especially surfing. Luxury hotels are abundant. Waikiki has a zoo, an aquarium, exotic flora, and excellent shopping. Fort DeRussy is located there. Diamond Head crater is nearby.

Honolulu: Waikiki: At A Glance
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More on Waikiki
Waikiki is experiencing a glorious rejuvenation, mostly due to reconstruction improvements and the addition of the Waikiki Beach Walk, the largest development project ever to be undertaken in Waikiki's history. The beach walk en-compasses 7.9 acres and is bordered by Kalakaua Avenue, Lewers Street, Kalia Road, Beach Walk and Saratoga Road. The project cost $535 million and features an outdoor entertainment plaza, 41 new stores, six restaurants and five hotels. For more information visit www.waikikibeachwalk.com.
Where Did All The Hotels Go? The renovation of Waikiki seems to have enlarged Waikiki but, by efficient management, the developer was able to take lots of small hotels with small rooms into larger developments with larger rooms. When the developers started, they had 11 hotels with 3,100 rooms. Now, the Beach Walk has five hotels with 1,996 rooms.

This development has changed the whole look of Waikiki, creating a more energetic and enticing destination in the heart of Honolulu. An abundance of new restaurants bring a refreshing outlook on cuisine and visitors will delight in the numerous cultural activities and musical events available freely in the center's open-air plaza and center stage. Adults and kids can take part in ukulele lessons, hula lessons, lei making, story telling, wood carving and listening to well-known musical acts. Most of the shops and restaurants are open daily from 9 am to 10 pm.

Wikipedia: Waikiki
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For other uses, see Waikiki (disambiguation).

Waikīkī or Waikiki (pronounced /waɪkiːˈkiː/ in English and [vɐiˈkiːˈkiː] or [wɐiˈkiːˈkiː] in Hawaiian) is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City & County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oʻahu, Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī.

Waikīkī beach looking towards Diamond Head

Contents

Etymology

The name means spouting fresh water in the Hawaiian language, for springs and streams that fed wetlands that once separated Waikīkī from the interior.[1]

Geography

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The neighborhood extends from the Ala Wai Canal (a channel dug to drain former wetlands) on the west and north, to Diamond Head (Lēʻahi) on the east. Waikīkī Beach is noted for its views of the Diamond Head tuff cone, its usually warm and cloud-free climate and its surf break.

Aerial view

The Waikīkī skyline is now dotted with an abundance of both high-rises and resort hotels. The beach is actually fairly short, with half of it marked off for surfers. For some distance into the ocean the water is quite shallow, although there are numerous rocks on the bottom. As with most ocean beaches the waves can have some force, particularly on windy days. The surf at Waikīkī is known for its long rolling break, making it ideal for long boarding, tandem surfing and beginners.

History

A statue of Duke Kahanamoku, a local Hawaiian credited with popularizing the sport of surfing

The area was a retreat for Hawaiian royalty in the 1800s. Much like the locals and tourists of today, Hawaiian royalty enjoyed surfing at Waikīkī on early forms of longboards.[2] A few small hotels opened in the 1880s. In 1893, Greek-American George Lycurgus leased the guest house of Allen Herbert and renamed it the "Sans Souci" (French for "without care") creating one of the first beach resorts. Later that year Robert Lewis Stevenson stayed at the resort; subsequently it became a popular destination for tourists from the mainland.[3] The area at coordinates 21°15′49″N 157°49′17″W / 21.26361°N 157.82139°W / 21.26361; -157.82139 is still called "Sans Souci Beach".[4]

Today, the area is filled with hotels like the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the Halekulani hotel, the Hyatt Regency Waikīkī, the Sheraton Waikīkī, and historic hotels dating back to the early 20th century (such as the Moana Surfrider Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The beach hosts many events a year, including surf competitions, outdoor performances, hula dancing and outrigger canoe races. Over time, Waikīkī beach has had its problems with erosion, leading to the construction of groins and beach replenishment projects. For example, in the 1920s and 1930s sand was imported from Manhattan Beach, California, via ship and barges to Waikīkī.[5] The importing of sand is said to have stopped in the 1970s and officials are looking for ways to sustain the existing sand by eliminating loss due to tide flow.[6]

Waikīkī is home to public places of note, including Kapiʻolani Park, Fort de Russy Military Reservation, Kahanamoku Lagoon, Kūhiō Beach Park, and Ali Wai Harbor. Since 2001, there have been free movies on the beach. Many tourists from around the world can view a movie on an outdoor 30 foot screen. This particular free movie event in Waikīkī is called "Sunset on the Beach".[7]

Economy

China Airlines operates its Honolulu Branch Office in Waikiki.[8] NTT DoCoMo also has limited operations here for the convenience of Japanese tourists.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the Waikiki Post Office at 330 Saratoga Road.[9]

Education

Hawaii Department of Education operates public schools. The district operates Waikiki Elementary School.[10]

The Hawaii State Public Library System operates the Waikiki Public Library at 400 Kapahulu Avenue.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ lookup of Waikiki on Hawaiian place names web site
  2. ^ http://www.hawaii-post.com/2008-05AUG.html Longboards used by royalty
  3. ^ Helen G. Chapin (1981). "The Queen's "Greek Artillery Fire": Greek Royalists in the Hawaiian Revolution and Counterrevolution". Hawaiian Journal of History 15. http://hdl.handle.net/10524/422. 
  4. ^ "Sans Souci Beach Park (Waikiki)". Official web site of City and County of Honolulu. http://www.honolulu.gov/parks/programs/beach/sansouci.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-10. 
  5. ^ Bonnie Beckerson (2001). "City of Manhattan Beach History". http://history90266.org/HistoryMB.htm. Retrieved 2006-06-18. 
  6. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/07/05/waikiki.sand.ap/index.html Where's Waikiki's sand? Experts believe Hawaii's most famous beach is eroding July 5, 2003
  7. ^ "Sunset on the Beach"
  8. ^ "Branch Offices North America." China Airlines. Retrieved on January 21, 2009.
  9. ^ "Post Office Location - WAIKIKI." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on May 22, 2009.
  10. ^ "School Information." Waikiki Elementary School. Retrieved on May 22, 2009.
  11. ^ "Waikiki Public Library." Hawaii State Public Library System. Retrieved on May 22, 2009.

External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Waikiki Beach

Coordinates: 21°16′31″N 157°49′52″W / 21.2752°N 157.8312°W / 21.2752; -157.8312

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Surfing areas of Hawaiʻi

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Honolulu. Honolulu, Waikiki & Oahu. Copyright © 2008 by Hunter Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Waikiki".  Read more