Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

History | Geography | Neighborhoods | Economy | Education : Universities | Research institutions | Natural museums | Performing arts | Visual arts | Tourist attractions | Sport | Venues

🇺🇸 Honolulu is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii on the island of Oʻahu. The city is the main gateway to Hawaiʻi and a major portal into the United States. The city is also a major hub for international business and military defence. The city is characterised by a mix of various Asian, Western, and Pacific cultures, as reflected in its diverse demography, cuisine, and traditions. Honolulu is a major financial centre of the islands and of the Pacific Ocean.

Honolulu is ranked high on world liveability rankings, and is the most populated Oceanian city outside Australasia and ranks second to Auckland as the most-populous city in Polynesia. Honolulu's favourable tropical climate, rich natural scenery, and extensive beaches makes it a popular global destination for tourists. As of May 2021, the city receives the bulk of visitors to Hawaii, between 7,000 and 11,000 daily.

History Evidence of the first settlement of Honolulu by the original Polynesian migrants to the archipelago comes from oral histories and artifacts. These indicate that there was a settlement where Honolulu now stands in the 11th century.[unreliable source?] After Kamehameha I conquered Oʻahu in the Battle of Nuʻuanu at Nuʻuanu Pali, he moved his royal court from the Island of Hawaiʻi to Waikīkī in 1804. His court relocated in 1809 to what is now downtown Honolulu. The capital was moved back to Kailua-Kona in 1812.

In November 1794, Captain William Brown of Great Britain was the first foreigner to sail into what is now Honolulu Harbor. More foreign ships followed, making the port of Honolulu a focal point for merchant ships traveling between North America and Asia. The settlement grew from a handful of homes to a city in the early 19th century after Kamehameha I chose it as a replacement for his residence at Waikiki in 1810.

In 1850, Kamehameha III moved the permanent capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom from Lahaina on Maui to Honolulu. He and the kings who followed him transformed Honolulu into a modern capital, erecting buildings such as St. Andrew's Cathedral, ʻIolani Palace, and Aliʻiōlani Hale. At the same time, Honolulu became the islands' centre of commerce, with descendants of American missionaries establishing major businesses downtown.

Despite the turbulent history of the late 19th century and early 20th century—such as the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, Hawaiʻi's annexation by the U.S. in 1898, a large fire in 1900, and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941—Honolulu remained the Hawaiian Islands' capital, largest city, and main airport and seaport.

An economic and tourism boom following statehood brought rapid economic growth to Honolulu and Hawaiʻi. Modern air travel brings, as of 2007, 7.6 million visitors annually to the islands, with 62.3% entering at Honolulu International Airport. Today, Honolulu is a modern city with numerous high-rise buildings, and Waikīkī is the centre of the tourism industry in Hawaiʻi, with thousands of hotel rooms.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the Urban Honolulu CDP has an area of 68.4 square miles (177.2 km²), of which 7.9 square miles (20.5 km²), or 11.56%, is water.

Honolulu is the remotest major U.S. city and one of the remotest in the world. The closest location in mainland U.S. is the Point Arena Lighthouse in northern California, at 2,045 nautical miles (3,787 km). (Nautical vessels require some additional distance to circumnavigate Makapuʻu Point.) The closest major city is San Francisco, California, at 2,397 miles (3,858 km). Some islands off the Mexican coast and part of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska are slightly closer to Honolulu than the mainland. The volcanic field of the Honolulu Volcanics is partially inside the city.

Neighborhoods • Downtown Honolulu is Hawaii's financial, commercial, and governmental center. On the waterfront is Aloha Tower, for many years Hawaiʻi's tallest building. The tallest building is now the 438-foot (134 m) First Hawaiian Center, on King and Bishop Streets. The downtown campus of Hawaiʻi Pacific University is also there. • The Arts District Honolulu, both downtown and in Chinatown, is on Chinatown's eastern edge. It is a 12-block area bounded by Bethel & Smith Streets and Nimitz Highway and Beretania Street—home to numerous arts and cultural institutions. It is within the Chinatown Historic District, which includes the former Hotel Street Vice District. • The Capitol District is the eastern part of Downtown Honolulu. It is the current and historic centre of Hawaiʻi's state government, incorporating the State Capitol, ʻIolani Palace, Honolulu Hale (City Hall), State Library, and the statue of King Kamehameha I, along with numerous government buildings. • Kakaʻako is a light-industrial district between Downtown and Waikīkī that has seen a large-scale redevelopment effort in the past decade. It is home to two major shopping areas, Ward Warehouse and Ward Center. The Howard Hughes Corporation plans to transform Ward Centers into Ward Village over the next decade. The John A. Burns School of Medicine, part of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, is also there. A memorial to the Ehime Maru Incident victims is at the Kakaʻako Waterfront Park. • Ala Moana is a district between Kakaʻako and Waikīkī and the home of Ala Moana Center, the "world's largest open-air shopping center" and Hawaiʻi's largest shopping mall. Ala Moana Center has over 300 tenants and is very popular with tourists. Also in Ala Moana is the Honolulu Design Center and Ala Moana Beach Park, Honolulu's second-largest park. • Waikīkī is Honolulu's tourist district, between the Ala Wai Canal and the Pacific Ocean next to Diamond Head. Numerous hotels, shops, and nightlife opportunities are along Kalākaua and Kūhiō Avenues. It is a popular location for visitors and locals alike and attracts millions of visitors every year. Most of Oʻahu's hotel rooms are in Waikīkī. • Mānoa, Mōʻiliʻili, and Makiki are residential neighborhoods in adjacent areas just inland of downtown and Waikīkī. Mānoa Valley is home to the main campus of the University of Hawaiʻi. • Nuʻuanu and Pauoa are upper-middle-class residential districts inland of downtown Honolulu. The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is in Punchbowl Crater, fronting Pauoa Valley. • Pālolo and Kaimukī are neighborhoods east of Mānoa and Makiki, inland from Diamond Head. Pālolo Valley parallels Mānoa and is a residential neighborhood. Kaimukī is primarily a residential neighborhood with a commercial strip centered on Waiʻalae Avenue running behind Diamond Head. Chaminade University is in Kaimukī. • Waiʻalae and Kāhala are upper-class districts of Honolulu directly east of Diamond Head, with many high-priced homes. Also in these neighborhoods are the Waialae Country Club and the five-star Kahala Hotel & Resort. • East Honolulu includes the residential communities of ʻĀina Haina, Niu Valley, and Hawaiʻi Kai. These are considered upper-middle-class neighborhoods. The upscale gated communities of Waiʻalae ʻIki and Hawaiʻi Loa Ridge are also there. • Kalihi and Pālama are working-class neighborhoods with a number of government housing developments. Lower Kalihi, toward the ocean, is a light-industrial district. • Salt Lake and Āliamanu are (mostly) residential areas built in extinct tuff cones along the western end of the Honolulu District, not far from Honolulu International Airport. • Moanalua is two neighborhoods and a valley at the western end of Honolulu, and home to Tripler Army Medical Center. • Kamehameha Heights is a northern suburb.

Economy The largest city and airport in the Hawaiian Islands, Honolulu acts as a natural gateway to the islands' large tourism industry, which brings millions of visitors and contributes $10 billion annually to the local economy. Honolulu's location in the Pacific also makes it a large business and trading hub, particularly between the East and the West. Other important aspects of the city's economy include military defence, research and development, and manufacturing.

Among the companies based in Honolulu are: • Alexander & Baldwin • Bank of Hawaii • Central Pacific Bank • First Hawaiian Bank • Hawaii Medical Service Association • Hawaii Pacific Health • Hawaiian Electric Industries • Matson Navigation Company • The Queen's Health Systems.

Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, and Aloha Air Cargo are headquartered in the city. Prior to its dissolution, Aloha Airlines was headquartered in the city. At one time Mid-Pacific Airlines had its headquarters on the property of Honolulu International Airport.

Since no US bank chains have any branches in Hawaiʻi, many visitors and new residents use different banks. First Hawaiian Bank is the largest and oldest bank in Hawaii and their headquarters are at the First Hawaiian Center, the tallest building in the State of Hawaiʻi.

Education: Universities Colleges and universities in Honolulu include Honolulu Community College, Kapiolani Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Chaminade University, and Hawaii Pacific University. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa houses the main offices of the University of Hawaiʻi System.

Research institutions Honolulu is home to three renowned international affairs research institutions. The Pacific Forum, one of the world's leading Asia-Pacific policy research institutes and one of the first U.S. organizations to focus exclusively on Asia, has its main office on Bishop Street in downtown Honolulu. The East–West Center (EWC), an education and research organization established by Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peoples and nations of Asia, the Pacific, and the U.S., is headquartered in Mānoa, Honolulu. The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), a U.S. Department of Defense institute, is based in Waikīkī, Honolulu. APCSS addresses regional and global security issues and supports the U.S. Pacific Command by developing and sustaining relationships among security practitioners and national security establishments throughout the region.

Natural museums The Bishop Museum is Honolulu's largest museum. It has the state's largest collection of natural history specimens and the world's largest collection of Hawaiiana and Pacific culture artifacts. The Honolulu Zoo is Hawaii's main zoological institution, while the Waikīkī Aquarium is a working marine biology laboratory. The Waikīkī Aquarium partners with the University of Hawaiʻi and other universities worldwide. Established for appreciation and botany, Honolulu is home to several gardens: Foster Botanical Garden, Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden, Walker Estate, among others.

Performing arts Established in 1900, the Honolulu Symphony is the second-oldest U.S. symphony orchestra west of the Rocky Mountains. Other classical music ensembles include the Hawaii Opera Theatre. Honolulu is also a centre for Hawaiian music. The main music venues include the Hawaii Theatre, the Neal Blaisdell Center Concert Hall and Arena, and the Waikīkī Shell.

Honolulu also includes several venues for live theater, including the Diamond Head Theatre and Kumu Kahua Theatre.

Visual arts The Honolulu Museum of Art has Hawaiʻi's largest collection of Asian and Western art. It also has the largest collection of Islamic art, housed at the Shangri La estate. Since the merger of the Honolulu Academy of Arts and The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu (now called the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House) in 2011, the museum is also the state's only contemporary art museum. The contemporary collections are housed at main campus (Spalding House) in Makiki and a multi-level gallery in downtown Honolulu at the First Hawaiian Center. The museum hosts a film and video program dedicated to arthouse and world cinema in the museum's Doris Duke Theatre, named for the museum's historic patroness Doris Duke.

The Hawaii State Art Museum (also downtown) has pieces by local artists as well as traditional Hawaiian art. The museum is administered by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Honolulu also annually holds the Hawaii International Film Festival (HIFF). It showcases some of the best films from producers all across the Pacific Rim and is the largest "East meets West" style film festival of its sort in the United States.

Tourist attractions • Ala Moana Center • Aloha Tower • Bishop Museum • Diamond Head • Hanauma Bay • Honolulu Museum of Art • Honolulu Zoo • ʻIolani Palace • Lyon Arboretum • National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific • USS Arizona Memorial • Waikīkī Aquarium • Waikiki Beach • Waikiki Trolley • International Market Place • Kapi'olani Park.

Sport Honolulu's tropical climate lends itself to year-round activities. In 2004, Men's Fitness magazine named Honolulu the fittest city in the United States. Honolulu has three large road races: • The Great Aloha Run is held annually on Presidents' Day. • The Honolulu Marathon, held annually on the second Sunday in December, draws more than 20,000 participants each year, about half to two thirds of them from Japan. • The Honolulu Triathlon is an Olympic distance triathlon event governed by USA Triathlon and partly by the Japanese. Held annually in May since 2004, there is an absence of a sprint course.

Ironman Hawaii was first held in Honolulu. It was the first ever Ironman triathlon event and is also the world championship.

The Waikiki Roughwater Swim race is held annually off the beach of Waikiki. Founded by Jim Cotton in 1970, the course is 2.384 miles (3.837 km) and spans from the New Otani Hotel to the Hilton Rainbow Tower.

Fans of spectator sports in Honolulu generally support the football, volleyball, basketball, rugby union, rugby league, and baseball programs of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. High school sporting events, especially football, are especially popular.

Honolulu has no professional sports teams, with any prospective teams being forced to conduct extremely long travels for away games in the continental states. It was the home of the Hawaii Islanders (Pacific Coast League, 1961–87), The Hawaiians (World Football League, 1974–75), Team Hawaii (North American Soccer League, 1977), and the Hawaiian Islanders (af2, 2002–04).

The NCAA football Hawaii Bowl is played in Honolulu. Honolulu also hosted the NFL's annual Pro Bowl each February from 1980 to 2009. After the 2010 and 2015 games were played in Miami Gardens and Glendale, respectively, the Pro Bowl was once again in Honolulu from 2011 to 2014, with 2016 the most recent. From 1993 to 2008, Honolulu hosted Hawaii Winter Baseball, featuring minor-league players from Major League Baseball, Nippon Professional Baseball, Korea Baseball Organization, and independent leagues.

In 2018, the Honolulu Little League team qualified for that year's Little League World Series tournament. The team went undefeated en route to the United States championship game, where it bested Georgia's Peachtree City American Little League team 3–0. In the world championship game, the team faced off against South Korea's South Seoul Little League team. Hawaii pitcher Ka'olu Holt threw a complete game shutout while striking out 8, and Honolulu Little League, again by a score of 3–0, secured the victory, capturing the 2018 Little League World Series championship and Hawaii's third overall title at the Little League World Series.

Venues Venues for spectator sports in Honolulu include: • Les Murakami Stadium at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (baseball) • Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena (basketball) • Stan Sheriff Center at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (basketball and volleyball)

Aloha Stadium, a venue for American football and soccer, is located in Halawa near Pearl Harbor, just outside Honolulu.

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States 
<b>Honolulu, Hawaii, United States</b>
Image: Adobe Stock Dudarev Mikhail #243821385

Honolulu is rated Sufficiency by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) which evaluates and ranks the relationships between world cities in the context of globalisation. Sufficiency level cities are cities that have a sufficient degree of services so as not to be overly dependent on world cities.

Honolulu is ranked #155 by the Global Urban Competitiveness Report (GUCR) which evaluates and ranks world cities in the context of economic competitiveness. Honolulu was ranked #85 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Honolulu has a population of over 345,064 people. Honolulu also forms the centre of the wider Honolulu County which has a population of over 1,016,508 people. Honolulu is the #45 hipster city in the world, with a hipster score of 5.538 according to the Hipster Index which evaluates and ranks the major cities of the world according to the number of vegan eateries, coffee shops, tattoo studios, vintage boutiques, and record stores. Honolulu is ranked #259 for startups with a score of 1.249.

To set up a UBI Lab for Honolulu see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Honolulu has links with:

🇵🇭 Baguio, Philippines 🇦🇿 Baku, Azerbaijan 🇫🇷 Bruyères, France 🇵🇭 Candon, Philippines 🇻🇪 Caracas, Venezuela 🇵🇭 Cebu City, Philippines 🇨🇳 Chengdu, China 🇯🇵 Chigasaki, Japan 🇲🇭 Delap-Uliga-Djarrit, The Marshall Islands 🇨🇳 Fengxian, China 🇵🇹 Funchal, Portugal 🇨🇳 Haikou, China 🇯🇵 Hiroshima, Japan 🇻🇳 Huế, Vietnam 🇰🇷 Incheon, South Korea 🇹🇼 Kaohsiung, Taiwan 🇷🇺 Kyzyl, Russia 🇵🇭 Laoag, Philippines 🇻🇺 Luganville, Vanuatu 🇵🇭 Mandaluyong, Philippines 🇵🇭 Manila, Philippines 🇻🇪 Maracaibo, Venezuela 🇰🇪 Mombasa, Kenya 🇮🇳 Mumbai, India 🇯🇵 Nagaoka, Japan 🇯🇵 Naha, Japan 🇨🇳 Nanping, China 🇪🇸 Noreña, Spain 🇨🇳 Qinhuangdao, China 🇲🇦 Rabat, Morocco 🇵🇷 San Juan, Puerto Rico 🇨🇴 Santiago de Cali, Colombia 🇰🇷 Seoul, South Korea 🇯🇵 Shirahama, Japan 🇵🇹 Sintra, Portugal 🇯🇵 Uwajima, Japan 🇵🇭 Vigan, Philippines 🇨🇳 Wuyishan, China 🇨🇳 Zhangzhou, China 🇨🇳 Zhongshan, China
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | GaWC | GUCR | Hipster Index | Nomad | StartupBlink

East of: -157.85

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089

🇺🇸 Kenai -151.217

🇺🇸 Anchorage -149.858

🇺🇸 Knik-Fairview -149.583

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566

🇺🇸 Wasilla -149.45

West of: -157.85

🇺🇸 Pearl City -157.969

🇺🇸 Kapa'a -159.333

🇺🇸 Līhuʻe -159.35

🇺🇸 Lihue -159.35

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216

Antipodal to Honolulu is: 22.15,-21.3

Locations Near: Honolulu -157.85,21.3

🇺🇸 Pearl City -157.969,21.394 d: 16.1  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 136.7  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 146.7  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 150.6  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 159.4  

🇺🇸 Līhuʻe -159.35,21.967 d: 171.9  

🇺🇸 Lihue -159.35,21.967 d: 171.9  

🇺🇸 Kapa'a -159.333,22.083 d: 176.2  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 336.6  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 4191.4  

Antipodal to: Honolulu 22.15,-21.3

🇳🇦 Gobabis 18.967,-22.433 d: 19663.3  

🇳🇦 Rundu 19.784,-17.915 d: 19564.4  

🇳🇦 Katima Mulilo 24.267,-17.5 d: 19537.8  

🇧🇼 Serowe 26.695,-22.389 d: 19530.6  

🇳🇦 Tsumeb 17.716,-19.242 d: 19499.1  

🇧🇼 Gaborone 25.91,-24.64 d: 19480.3  

🇿🇲 Livingstone 25.856,-17.847 d: 19469.1  

🇧🇼 Mochudi 26.15,-24.417 d: 19478.4  

🇳🇦 Windhoek 17.084,-22.57 d: 19473.8  

🇳🇦 Mariental 17.959,-24.621 d: 19449.1  

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