Honolulu

I

Introduction

Honolulu, city, capital of Hawaii and seat of Honolulu County, located on the island of Oahu. Honolulu is the largest city in Hawaii and the major port and economic center of the state.

Honolulu and Honolulu County have the same boundaries and government, and together they are officially known as the City and County of Honolulu. The City and County of Honolulu has jurisdiction over the entire island of Oahu and several small outlying islands, the most remote of which is Kure Atoll, 2,200 km (1,370 mi) west of the city. Although it technically encompasses all of Oahu, the city of Honolulu is generally considered to be limited to the urban area on the island’s southeastern coast. This area extends east to west from Makapuu Point to Pearl Harbor and south to north from the Pacific Ocean to the Koolau Mountains.

The name Honolulu comes from the Hawaiian language and means “sheltered harbor.” The city has a subtropical climate, with an average daily temperature range of 19° to 27°C (66° to 80°F) in January and 23° to 31°C (74° to 88°F) in July. Honolulu averages 560 mm (22 in) of rain per year.

II

Honolulu and Its Metropolitan Area

The urban area of Honolulu covers 265 sq km (102 sq mi). Honolulu’s metropolitan area, comprising the City and County of Honolulu, has a total land area of 1,555 sq km (600 sq mi).

---

---

Much of Honolulu’s growth and development has concentrated along the southern coast of Oahu. This area is framed to the east by the remnants of a large extinct volcano known as Diamond Head and includes Waikiki, located west of Diamond Head; the downtown area, situated near Honolulu Harbor; Honolulu International Airport; and newer communities in the western part of the island. Two parallel mountain ranges of volcanic origin, the Koolau and Waianae mountains, run north to south across much of the island. The ridges of these mountains form sheer cliff faces and numerous valleys, creating a scenic backdrop to the city.

The city of Honolulu has grown outward from its harbor. Adjacent to the harbor, in the area known as Chinatown, seafood, produce, and other markets were established. Just north of the harbor is the city’s central business district, where many of the major corporations and landowners in Honolulu have headquarters. The civic center is the site of both state and local government offices; it adjoins King Street, the district's main thoroughfare. Dominating the civic center is the ornate Iolani Palace, once the home of the Hawaiian royal family, which served as the state capitol until 1969. The new State Capitol is located near Iolani Palace. Directly across from the palace is Aliiolani Hale, which houses the Supreme Court of Hawaii. In front of Aliiolani Hale is a famous gilded statue of Hawaiian king Kamehameha I. Other buildings in the civic center include City Hall, which is known as Honolulu Hale, and Washington Place, the former home of Queen Liliuokalani, the last reigning queen of Hawaii. Washington Place is now the residence of the state governor.

The city's main residential districts spread inland and along the shore in both directions from the downtown area. The residential district of Makiki Heights lies east of downtown. Other neighborhoods, such as (clockwise from northwest of downtown) Nuuanu, Liliha, Manoa, and Kaimuki, grew as the city expanded outward from the harbor area. These areas have a mix of housing types and styles, from large single-family structures to smaller multiunit apartments and condominiums. Small commercial districts are located in many of these areas, and the storefronts and small businesses help to promote a small-town feeling throughout Honolulu. Some of the more outlying communities, such as Aiea and Ewa, formed around plantations that were connected to downtown Honolulu by a rail line used for transporting sugar to the central shipping hub.

Because much of the land on Oahu is too steep to develop, other residential communities have sprung up in the valleys and on the large plateau between Oahu’s two mountain ranges. Planned subdivisions have been built in areas such as Hawaii Kai, on Oahu’s southeastern coast; Mililani Town, in the west central part of the island; Pearl City, west of downtown Honolulu on Pearl Harbor; Kailua, south of Makapuu Point; and other parts of the island. Ford Island, a military residential community, is located in the middle of Pearl Harbor.

III

Population

In 2000 Honolulu’s urban population was 371,657, compared to the 1990 census figure of 365,272. In 2005, Honolulu's population was estimated at 377,379. The population of the metropolitan area was 905,266 in 2005, up from 836,231 in 1990.

Ethnically and culturally, Honolulu is different from many United States cities. According to the 2000 census, people of Asian ancestry constituted 55.9 percent of Honolulu’s population, Caucasians 19.7 percent, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 6.8 percent, African Americans 1.6 percent, Native Americans 0.2, and people of mixed heritage or not reporting race 15.8 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 4.4 percent of the population. The largest nonwhite ethnic groups are Japanese, Hawaiian or part-Hawaiian, Filipino, and Chinese.

World War II (1939-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953), and the Vietnam War (1959-1975) resulted in new population growth in Honolulu as the area gained in importance to the U.S. military and bases were built or expanded. In the late 1990s military personnel and their dependents constituted approximately 10 percent of Honolulu’s population.

Christianity ranks as the dominant religion in Honolulu, accounting for about 35 percent of the total population. Half of the Christians are Roman Catholics. About 7 percent of Honolulu’s population practices some form of Buddhism.

English is the dominant language in the city, spoken in the majority of households. Other commonly used languages are Japanese, Tagalog, Ilocano, and Chinese. For many years, the major language spoken in the area was Hawaiian, and during the late 1800s more than 90 percent of the population could speak, read, and write in Hawaiian. In 1896 the Hawaiian government reorganized the public school system and gave power over it to the Board of Education. The board instituted an English-only educational policy. At the time, the policy was seen as a way of strengthening economic and political ties with the United States mainland. It was also a means of acculturating and socializing indigenous Hawaiians and other ethnic groups. As a consequence of this policy, the use of the Hawaiian language declined drastically. In the second half of the 20th century, however, there was a renaissance in the Hawaiian language, and in the 1970s Hawaiian was recognized as one of the state’s two official languages. This led to the introduction of Hawaiian language courses in primary and secondary schools as well as on university campuses and in community education programs, both within Honolulu and throughout the state.

IV

Education and Culture

In 1907 the University of Hawaii was established as the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts at its present location in Manoa, just northeast of Waikiki (see University of Hawaii at Manoa). The University of Hawaii—West Oahu, in Pearl City, is also part of the University of Hawaii System, which comprises ten regional campuses around the state. Other major universities in and around Honolulu include Hawaii Pacific University, Chaminade University of Honolulu, and the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University.

The state’s largest museum, the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, is located in Honolulu. It contains a large collection of Polynesian archaeological artifacts, as well as many exhibits on Hawaiian history and culture. The museum also has an extensive entomological collection with more than 13 million specimens. Other important museums include the Honolulu Academy of Arts, known for its extensive collection of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean art; the Contemporary Museum, with exhibits of modern art and photography; and the Mission Houses Museum, which comprises three buildings from the early 1800s that once housed missionaries. Other cultural institutions in Honolulu include the Neal S. Blaisdell Center, a complex containing an arena, an exhibition hall, and a theater-concert hall, which serves as the home of the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra.

Because of the large military presence in Honolulu, the city is home to several important military memorials. Within Punchbowl, an extinct volcanic crater directly behind the city’s central business district, is the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Thousands of U.S. servicemen who died during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War are buried there. In addition, the USS Arizona Memorial, in Pearl Harbor, commemorates those killed during the Japanese attack in December 1941.

Honolulu hosts many annual festivals and celebrations. These include the Narcissus Festival in Chinatown (January or February, part of the celebration of Chinese New Year), the Cherry Blossom Festival (March), Lei Day (May), the 50th State Fair (June), Aloha Festivals (September and October), the Hawaii International Film Festival (November), and the First Night Celebration (December). In addition to these important cultural events, indigenous Hawaiian culture is expressed through hula, the traditional dance of the Hawaiian Islands; chants, types of which range from sacred chants about the creation of the world to love chants and chants performed for fun; and music. Many musicians and hula halau (hula schools) are devoted to the preservation and continuation of Hawaiian music and culture. Asian dance, theater, and music are also well represented in Honolulu.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain