[ A WALKING TOUR ]
Elegant, functional
train depot was typical
of old Honolulu
The Ewa end of Honolulu is anchored by the Oahu Railway & Land train terminal building, situated right at the cusp of Chinatown, the industrial tracts of Iwilei and the piers of Honolulu Harbor. Replacing two earlier, wood-frame OR&L buildings at almost the same location, this Bertram Goodhue-designed structure is typical of Honolulu's civic design of the 1920s -- classically Mediterranean, coolly elegant and industrially functional.
Surmounted by a four-sided clock tower (that currently keeps wildly inaccurate time), the two-story structure sports creamy stucco walls, a red tile roof and an airy ground-floor arcade.
Benjamin Dillingham's OR&L company, created in 1889, changed the landscape of west Honolulu.
Its first train depot was created between a fishpond and North King Street, next to Prison Road, later renamed Iwilei Road. The first section of track extended only as far as Aiea, but by the 1920s, tracks had been laid all over the island. The train was the primary mode of transportation.
World War II's building boom extended paved roads everywhere, and by VJ Day, trains had largely run their course. The last OR&L passenger train rolled in 1947, and the site became a bus depot for Honolulu Rapid Transit.
Eventually acquired by the state, the terminal sat empty for many years when it wasn't used by the Department of Human Services. In 2001, the state invested $1.64 million to renovate the historic building, installing new electrical, plumbing and air-conditioning systems.
The spruced-up building supposedly will continue to cater to homeless and indigent citizens who inhabit the area, but today features a sharply pointed fence to discourage doorway sleepers.
Oahu Railway and
Land Terminal
Opened: 1927 Architect: Bertram Goodhue Style: Spanish Mission Revival Address: 325 North King St. National Register: 1979 Hawaii Register: 1987
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BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
The day of the OR&L passenger train is over, and the company's grand terminal is now a depot for human services.
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Quicktime VR Panorama
Click on pictures to view panaromas
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
BURL BURLINGAME / BBURLINGAME@STARBULLETIN.COM
Every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin Travel section, rediscover the charms of old Hawaii through a tour created by the Honolulu Historic Trail Committee and Historic Hawai'i Foundation and supported by the city's Office of Economic Development. The yearlong project commemorates Honolulu's bicentennial.
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See Honolulu City Highlights
Various Honolulu historical organizations have clamored for years to have some sort of survey created of downtown Honolulu's historical sites. The mayor's Office of Economic Development stepped in last year to create order, and 50 locations were chosen as representative of Honolulu's history.
There is, of course, far more history in Honolulu's streets than indicated here, but these sites give the high points and can be visited on a walking tour lasting about three hours.
To commemorate Honolulu's bicentennial, the Star-Bulletin kicks off "Holoholo Honolulu" today, a year-long project to examine these historic properties. For the next 50 Sundays in the Travel section, stories and photographs will illuminate these sites.
But that's just the tip of the architectural iceberg. Viewers can step right into these locations via the magic of QuickTime Virtual Reality, a computer process that allows visitors from around the world to feel as if they're standing right there on the street.
WE'RE ALSO looking for old photographs of these sites to scan for public use. If you have anything, let us know:
Write to:
Holoholo
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
7-210 Waterfront Plaza
500 Ala Moana
Honolulu, HI 96813.E-mail:
bburlingame@starbulletin.com
