Aloha Tower: then and now

1959 vs 2013 · Honolulu, HI

NowThen

Then, 1959A color photo from 1959, when the tower still stood above a working harbor. The date and photographer are the ones listed on Wikimedia Commons.Photo: Father of JGKlein · Public domain · Source · resized

Today, 2013The tower now rises over palm trees and a plaza. Newer buildings crowd the harbor around it.Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand · CC0 · Source · resized

The story

The Aloha Tower opened on September 11, 1926, at a cost of $160,000. It is a retired lighthouse, 10 stories and 184 feet tall, with a flag mast on top. It was Hawaiʻi's tallest structure for about four decades.

Ships arriving from far away landed at the pier below it. Wikipedia compares its welcome to the Statue of Liberty greeting immigrants in New York.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Coast Guardsmen took defensive positions around the tower, and it was painted in camouflage. Public access to the observation deck was limited after September 11, 2001, but it has since reopened.

Did you know? After the Pearl Harbor attack the tower was painted in camouflage, so it would be harder to spot from the air.

Historians argue about this. The "Then" photo is dated 1959 in its Wikimedia Commons listing, which credits the uploader's father. Treat the year as the listed date, not a checked record.

Fact or tall tale?

SolidThe Aloha Tower was Hawaiʻi's tallest structure for about four decades.
Wikipedia says so, and it was the tallest until the 1960s.
Not trueThe Aloha Tower opened in the 1880s, under the monarchy.
It opened on September 11, 1926, long after the monarchy ended.

Sources

More: Look for historic photos at the Library of Congress

Stamp it in person

Go there, answer the question that only someone standing at Aloha Tower can answer, and add the stamp to your passport. Free, no sign-up.

Play Honolulu

More in Honolulu

Next: Kawaiahaʻo Church. Written from the cited sources, not yet walked on site unless noted.