Ala Moana, technically, excludes a number of condos, one may think of, as being part of the Ala Moana neighborhood. For instance,
Azure Ala Moana and
Sky Ala Moana belong to a neighborhood called "Holiday Mart" and
The Park on Keeaumoku belongs to "Pawaa" - neighborhood names unknown to most. With all the
new developments in and around Ala Moana the name Midtown Ala Moana was born, which loosely refers to a section of Kapiolani Blvd (from Piikoi St in the east to Atkinson Dr in the west) and the area north of this particular section of Kapiolani Blvd up to about King St, with Keeaumoku St being the central stretch, north bound, from Kapiolani Blvd.
A part of Ala Moana, but not Midtown Ala Moana, there are also a number of older condos, built prior to 1980, near Atkinson Drive and the Hawaii Convention Center, the most prominent condo being
Yacht Harbor Towers (1973). It wasn't before 1989 another condo was built in Ala Moana -
Uraku Tower - and after this, the next condo was in 2014t, luxury
One Ala Moana.
Park Lane (2017) has also been added to the neighborhood, an ultra-luxury condo located on top of Ala Moana Shopping Center, along Ala Moana Blvd.
Midtown Ala Moana Map The Neighborhood At the center of this world famous neighborhood sits the sprawling open air
Ala Moana Shopping Center, which has undergone several renovations and expansions over the years to keep up with demand. The center features about 300 shops including Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, along with over 60 eatery options.
Across the boulevard is the enormous
Ala Moana Beach Park, playground for many active outdoor enthusiasts. A fabulous beach with calm waters and a protective outer reef makes Ala Moana ideal for long distance swimming and paddle boarding. The park has bike paths, tennis courts and picnic tables, which fill up fast on weekends. Ala Moana also hosts the start of the annual
Honolulu Marathon, which draws about 25,000 participants from all over the world.
Magic Island, the tip of Ala Moana Beach Park closest to
Waikiki, is truly a special place to savor sunsets, watch sailboats, surf, jog or just enjoy the outdoors. You might recognize Magic Island from the opening scene of the TV show Gilligan’s Island. Every year on Independence Day Hawaii’s largest firework erupts here, visible from most places in Honolulu, with several Ala Moana condos enjoying picture perfect front seat views.
The
Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, Hawaii’s largest boat harbor, straddles both sides of the Ala Wai Canal where it joins the ocean between Waikiki and Ala Moana. The yacht harbor is home to a couple of yard clubs sheltering a huge selection of boats, many visiting from all over the world. This is also the finish of the Los Angeles - Honolulu Trans Pacific sailing race, one of the longest running sailing races in the world.
History of Ala Moana Ala Moana was once a very different place. Not only did it have another name, 'Kalia', it was also mostly swampland with some scattered taro patches. A place that, for centuries, mainly fishermen lived.
In 1912 Hawaiian Dredging, owned by Walter Dillingham, bought land here for the dumping of coral, sand and dirt from their projects around Oahu. This filled in much of the wetlands and ponds, creating solid ground, much of which became Ala Moana Park. The area set aside for the park was officially dedicated in 1934, in part by President Roosevelt.
The next couple of decades saw small homes becoming more numerous nearby, but nothing that could be called a real neighborhood. It was purely a low-rise, low density district. That would change with the coming of Ala Moana Center.
Envisioned as early as 1948 by Lowell Dillingham, Walter's son, it wouldn't be until 1957 that Hawaiian Dredging actually began building on what had been bare land. Ala Moana Center was finished and opened with great fanfare in 1959, coinciding with the advent of Statehood.
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