Hawaiianology

"Nothing like it! Only 20 Minutes Drive from Town!" Pearl City Tavern (1939-July 15th, 1993), aka PCT, was on corner of Kamehameha Highway, Lehua Avenue cat lot and acted as a Pearl City landmark as a popular destination. The first Town & Country Surf Shop was across the street at the time, so the area was filled with shops to go to before or after eating at the restaurant. Guests like KGU Radio (1940’s) had done broadcast shows from Pearl City Tavern with Marie Mitchells or when Johnny Carson came. The shop had its hardships with a fire at the top of roof with the trees, then there was when the waters flooded it in the late 1950’s and was destroyed by a raging mob in the 1970’s. Mauka of the water was the where the location was where Pan Am Clipper’s could be heard with their propellers thundering and splashes being heard made it seem to present the magic of air travel. Location was everything Pearl Harbor had a landing area for air to water aircrafts. Old plantation sty...

Harry Kojima (1944-2011) “Hey Gang! Come on! Let’s go fishing! ” Description:  Harry Toshio Kojima (Hari), nicknamed “Ambassador of Hawaii Local Fishing”, left a taste of the sea in the 20th century, with his television show that helped create awareness of the importance of the recipes of Hawaii's recent past. He was known for his local personality and etiquette as he taught several generations of viewers how to fish, cut, and cook, as he was usually wearing shorts on set with his wavy hair that was most likely salted from the sea.  He was multitalented and would be playing mean Ukulele while covering a Kaau Crater Boys song or sometimes his harmonica he would pull out from his pocket. He taught people what the Local Boy model was as well as how to Love what you do. He had a sense of Friendliness and Informality, yet if things needed to be strict in learning things he would not hesitate. Harry graduated from Farrington High School (1962) and at that time lived on Halona Street...

Ward Farmers Market The old Ward Farmers Market (????-????) previously known as Ala Moana Market (????-????), would serve as an icon and be considered by many as “The Spirit of Ward” the old buildings, the preservation through development, and the history that it played on Oahu. Historians argue that the destruction of the market is to destroy the spirit of ward and while the market was in need of much needed repairs the larger business people rather get rid of it like yesterdays news instead of bringing in attention with scents of sea, slack key guitar playing, live displayed fish fileting and poke making with an artisan touch that people would be ensured they were getting some of the best all the time. Knowing it was a place people would track down ingredients for the Holiday season and have the local culture of peoples great great grandparents still live through the marketplace.  Memories are made from the old seafood markets that were there to serve the people of Oahu with lots...

“You can score at the point after” The Point After was located in the Hawaiian Regent, 2552 Kalakaua Avenue. It was the nightlife hub of Waikiki and opened at 9:00 pm and closed at 4:00 am every day with the last call at 3:30 am. It was known for its live music, crowds, good dance floor action, but the life of it was the experience and that Live music was the key. Such a popular place with the lines on the weekends and the cover charge would add up so people would save up to go dancing. There was a Point Pet VIP card to get past the cover charge, the 2 hour lines, and it would avoid the whole thing and go and have fun. It didn’t matter too much though, because they were packing people in and were way over the maximum allowed number. It was so popular it was like the Studio 54 of Hawaii with Stevie Wonder jamming and other people going under the radar. The way people would dress was in Angel Flight pants that clung to all their parts, nice long sleeved collared shirts, Members Only jack...

The Hawaiian Regent Hotel (1971-2000) was among the largest hotels in Waikiki at the time, occupying five acres and featuring over 1,300 rooms spread across two towers: the original L-shaped Kealohilani Tower and the 33-story Paoakalani Tower, added in 1979. The hotel's design incorporated spacious lanais, giving each tower a distinctive character and contributing to the architectural texture of the area.   Architects: Before the Hawaiian Regent Hotel was built, the site was part of old Waikiki’s patchwork of small guesthouses, beach cottages, and low-rise apartment buildings. In the decades before Hawaii’s statehood, this part of Waikiki was known for its quiet, residential feel — a mix of local homes and modest vacation rentals, rather than the high-rise hotels we associate with the area today. In the late 1960s, there was the Hawaii’s Tourism Golden Era with Jet travel that brought more visitors to the islands, developers began clearing older properties to make way for mode...

Fisherman’s Wharf “on the wharf at Kewalo Basin” was not only an icon, it felt like seeing an old friend. Honolulu had really iconic places like Fisherman’s wharf, the ward warehouse, the farmers market, the original international marketplace, the giant pineapple. It was one of the most iconic of Spencecliff owned businesses. The waitresses' bartenders and cocktail waitresses were such good fun people to be with a pleasant place to hang out at. Inside there were split tables with the wall between tables about 3 inches tall. The place was popular and was another Spencecliff restaurant where people were having escargot with full service, shells, pliers, but with the Aloha spirit alive in there customers would share. There was one lad who saw a lady who kept on eyeing out his table and he noticed that she was actually staring at the snails, she was just on the next table over and kept staring, so he offered her a snail, and the waitress remembers that she never saw someone leave so qu...

"The Gem in the Slums to the Top of the Boulevard” Columbia Inn (1941-2007) was located at 116 N Beretania St and Kamanuwai Lane with not to far off was Follies Theatre and Tin Can Alley (Kamanuwai Lane). Columbia Inn was started by the Kaneshiro Brothers of the Kaneshiro Ohana (Okinawan Descent) “Fred Toshi Kaneshiro” (1921-1981) and his older brother “Frank Gentaro Kaneshiro “ who were pretty into coffee where they would get the name “Columbia” from the words on the coffee bags as they believed good coffee, good people, make a good restaurant. The family got much of their social experience as members of “Oroku Azajin Club Hawaii” (Okinawa Ryukyu Islands Village groups and club) where they made the batter and cooked much of the Hawaii Andagi for Festivals. It was a based on American food, Local Breakfast, Local Lunch, and Local Dinner and had limited hours and worked closely with the Uyehara Family, particularly Kamado Uyehara (Frankie’s Cafe) who was his partner who handled much...