Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Kakaako Boom


I took this photo last month. The crane that's lifting stuff was so huge that it blocked off most of Ward Avenue.  This is across from where Sports Authority used to be. 

Kakaako's changing so much that there are a lot of places that "used to be".

IMG_0228

14 comments:

jenny said...

Totally agree! I get confused driving around Ward now because everything is so different. Kind of sad. :(

jalna said...

Jenny, me too!!

Anonymous said...

It’s so depressing to see how much Kakaako has changed.

Izsmom

Honolulu Aunty said...

Oh, it makes me so MAD!!! I keep asking for Hawaii to have a vision statement, at the top would be to keep Hawaii beautiful and preserve (not kill) our island lifestyle, skyline, and horizons.

Developers don't give a hoot other than making money. The City Council and Mayor only look at the trees and not the forest, so taller and taller buildings are approved. They say it is for affordable housing needs, or to provide work to construction people but those are not valid enough when it means we lose our Hawaii, block by block, for the sake of progress.

My young people think those new buildings are wonderful. They can have them. I might have to move to Kauai so I don't get more upset.

Anonymous said...

j: I get very confused cuz I drive by looking at landmarks, don't know street names. And that place is totally changed w/ all the tall buildings now. re: Daiso. OMG I went there near 10:30 am - still a long long line that snakes down right in front of Ben Franklin and then snakes back up. Waiting time I estimated was 1/2 hour to 45 minutes cuz they only let little bit go in and the store is not crowded. Poor 80 year old-ish obaachan had to stand in line with her curved back and all...they should let her go in already! Plus morning so there is no shade, just stand in the hot sun AND I dunno why but they are reserving 3 parking spaces right in front! Parking was of course hell cuz everyone stuck in line - everyone going round and round, luckily one opened up right in front but I went out surveyed the line and decided my back and legs cannot take that wait. I think I'll wait to late Jan or early Feb for the crowd to die down! So insane! -N

Chet Colson said...

So sad to see the urbanization and gentrification of Kakaako, I suppose that's progress...sigh. My fave surf shop Tropic Blends closed shop,move to Taiwan.Owner said landlord increase the rent, because of development.

Mark Shelby said...

OMG! That is Horrible! What an Ugly building!

I remember thinking to myself back in the 1970's when I was at McKinley High School that Kakaako would be the next high ride building boom on Oahu. I was a little early in my prediction, but there it is now! And I am very sad for my island home!

Kakaako was right down the street. I remember going to Lex Brodie's all the time to save money on gas and tires., Didn't Lex give us a special discount gas card so we would keep coming back for gas?

In 1967 my school friend Mark Thomas (his Father owned Love Thomas Motors on Kapiolani) and I had the first Mini Board surfboards ever made on Oahu by a surfboard shaper that lived in an old wooden 2 story home in Kakaako that was built in the late 1800's.

My new mini board was 7'2". Mark's was 6' 8". He was a we bit smaller than me. We were just 13 years old. We found these mini board shape designs in the Surfer Magazine. And these mini boards had just become all the rage in California! We had to have one now! So we asked around and found this shaper in Kakaako.

Best days of my Life, early Hawaiian Kine Days!

He lived upstairs, and his shaping area and office were downstairs.

K and S said...

it was krazy driving around there this summer...

jalna said...

Izsmom, what did we call that place before where Marukai "used to be"? Had fish markets, Hawaiian food, crack seed, Chinese roast pork. That used to be the go-to place.

Aunty, oooooh Kauai . . . that's one nice place to live!

Holy cow, N!! I don't know anybody who's actually shopped at the new Daiso yet. I wonder if got good stuff or people are just curious.

Chet, oh no!!

Mark, I love your memories.

Kat, it's confusing for me too!

Mark Shelby said...

Thanks Jalna. Very few left that have these kind of wonderful memories of the good 'ole Hawaiian Kine days. Plus Oahu was very small back then. Not the massive population we see today.

Typo on the high RISE.

Kakaako would be the next high "RISE" building boom on Oahu.

Anonymous said...

Jalna,

It was called Ward Farmer’s Market. I miss that place. It was like a compact/ one stop version of the Chinatown fish markets. Like you said, could get fish, char siu, roast pork, Hawaiian food from Haili’s, Crackseed and okazu from Hisago’s.



http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2002/Apr/08/br/br01p.html


https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=20720033#spot=20720033

Izsmom

Honolulu Aunty said...

Jalna, I used to call that place where Marukai used to be "Farmer's Market" or sometimes I would call it "Tropics" because of the biggest fish case and groceries store at the end. Not sure what others called it but I miss it.

Susan said...

Yeah! Yes, to keeping everything natural!

Erick said...

Plenty new building now, I can't keep track.