Take a trip back in time as Ala Moana Center celebrates 60 years of shopping, dining and entertainment. See how it all started and why it's still called a shopper's paradise.
Пікірлер: 115
@christimko92963 жыл бұрын
I remember going there when I was 10 in 74’, to see the koi ponds, then over too Aala skate park... good ole days!🤙😊
@l82nite3 жыл бұрын
Lots of good memories, and good times, going there. First time was in 1964. Christmas was magical back then. Saw all the changes through the years. Almost all the "Local" type stores gone. Replaced by expensive "tourist" stores. Haven't been there for years. Last time I went made me so sad. Sometimes change is not a good thing.
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
I feel the same way
@lohphat3 жыл бұрын
I remember my first visit in 1973. I agree. It's all un-affordable mainland stores and the local flavor is gone. I miss Ken's Okazuya downstairs before the food court opened.
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
Woolworths fried chicken da best
@jchanginwa3 жыл бұрын
Patty's Chinese kitchen before heading back to UH after a day at the beach. Those were the days!
@mmm16913 жыл бұрын
Remember the tiny ice skating rink downstairs at Liberty House, during Christmas? And Breakfast with Santa...
@Laceyann863 жыл бұрын
I love Ala Moana!! It's the highlight of my annual Hawaiian trip from Australia. There's nothing like it anywhere! Shopping heaven
@jchanginwa3 жыл бұрын
In 1963, I remember a trip to Honoloulu to visit my aunt for Christmas. I was 4 years old then, and visiting Ala Moana for the first time during the Christmas holidays was nothing short of magical for a country boy from the Big Island. The adults wanted us to have the sitting in Santa's lap experience and riding the Christmas kiddy train which was going to be the highlight of our afternoon. Needless 2 say nature made its calling at the most inopertune time, just as we were boarding the train. Mom was hoping I could wait till after the train ride to go to the bathroom. Well, as nature wouldn't wait and as the train made its circular journey, I found my way to the back of the caboose and relieved myself as the Christmas crowd looked on. I was told the story many years later that my astonished Aunt said to my mom, "Pretend he's not ours!".
@hebneh4 жыл бұрын
I visited for the first time just a day or two after it opened in 1959, and I'm still going there now.
@kathleendebaun40473 жыл бұрын
I miss Ala Moana it’s not the same at all. I miss liberty house 😢
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
I miss the old Ala Moana vibe. No local welcome feeling anymore
@GulfIslandRock2 жыл бұрын
😢
@duanearcher7576 Жыл бұрын
Liberty House was a great store My wife still has her LH charge card. Also liked Byron II and Linn's Deli @ Ala Moana.
@merkridge87803 жыл бұрын
Ala Moana has become a museum where locals go to look at things they can’t afford.
@digitalneko79753 жыл бұрын
Ala Moana holds a piece of my heart, 1977 age 7 got lost at the mall with my younger brother to find our big sister at Jeans Wharehouse. In the '80s, video arcades, and fast foods, Sears, Shirokiya for goodies was a place to go. In the late '80s, high school, the first food court opened, we ate lunch there every day and a place to hang out. The '90's mall shopping getting great deals at JCPenney's, Kramers, etc. 2000's Hot Topics and many coffee shops, Armani, fine shops. 2010, stroll through the malls, Apple, etc... 2020 never went back and I live 5 minutes away by car. A great history though.
@watsnu2day3 жыл бұрын
I feel the same way as i was born in 69’ so we share the same timeline. I have a lot of memories since to get home from school, we had to catch the bus to go to Ala Mo’s. I went to Sera’s Surf Shop for my first Ripper wallet, ate at McDonalds where the Center Food Court is now, and played arcade games at Woolworths. I worked at Liberty House kids shoe department in the early 2000’s for 5 years and had great memories. Then development started to rejuvenize the mall to stay in business with Sears closing down which was a staple store. I dont go there now except for the food court once in a while because its too commercialized.
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
I liked the arcade with the kiddie rollercoaster. And India imports
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
@@watsnu2day I remember ripper wallets. Do yo remember Hang Ten , Lightening Bolt and OP shorts , double decker slippers?
@darrenalmeida13823 жыл бұрын
My mom said I walked off with a stranger in Liberty House after I got lost.
@kalanikaau13 жыл бұрын
Mahalo for the memories, Ala Moana now is a travesty which has alienated many locals, myself included
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
I feel the same too
@catalinafirefly46853 жыл бұрын
What happened? I raised my kids at that mall up to 2008. Jungle Fun and Slipper House my favs.
@GaryRandall3 жыл бұрын
Frequented Ala Moana Shopping Center back in the 1970's when I would come to Honolulu from Midway Island where I served in the US Navy. It was a good place to shop, watch live shows and meet girls. :D
@darrenalmeida13823 жыл бұрын
Things to remember. The Liberty House bag on the rack, The bird cage, Peteʻs Model Craft, Woolworthʻs and the lunch counter, Sears popcorn and candy stand, AND Keiki Land.
@naomimuranaka94092 жыл бұрын
I sure miss the "old" Ala Moana Center. To bad my favorite stores are no more
@GulfIslandRock2 жыл бұрын
😢
@eddiea11203 жыл бұрын
Ala Moana is not the same, most of the stores I don't even step foot in. To high end for me, so I just stick too Pearlridge and Kahala Mall. Choke good memories as a child at Ala Moana. Had my first kiss right in front of Shirokiya when I was in high school😂. I think that was the store name. #govs
@villaingee97383 жыл бұрын
yessuh
@TheHaloRed3 жыл бұрын
When I was a kid there was a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor on the Makai side near Patti's Kitchen. Good times.
@lgv30513 жыл бұрын
Was Patti's the Chinese place? That was my grandma's favorite
@TheHaloRed3 жыл бұрын
@@lgv3051 Yup, it was there before they moved it to the food court!
@vandalynwilkerson34983 жыл бұрын
@@lgv3051 LOVE PATTY'S KITCHEN, GOOD FOOD.
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
Farrels free ice cream on your birthday with all the birthday singing and sirens going on.
@Allencartercomix3 жыл бұрын
Many a weekend as a kid in the '80s, my mother, sister, and I would hop on TheBus from Ma'ili to Ala Moana for Back to School shopping, Christmas Shopping, or to eat at the Food Court and see a movie at the nearby theaters off Kapiolani, Ala Moana Blvd, or Kuhio Ave. It was a long trek, but on the way back we would get the first crack at seats on the bus ride home, since Ala Moana Center was and always has been a major transit hub.
@RICHASASA3 жыл бұрын
Used to work at Ed & Dons Ice Cream Parlor back in the seventies... best job ever!
@b3nb3n372 жыл бұрын
I miss Hawaii! I moved from Hawaii 2017 it’s been 5 years since i visited .. growing up I’ve always heard people saying “it’s no place like home” didn’t understand it till I left .. the food, the people, our culture…
@plumeria83574 жыл бұрын
I first shopped at Ala Moana in the 1970’s and still love to shop there. It’s been a part of my life for about 50 years and is very dear to me. I miss the Yami Yogurt shop and Sears. But I am very thankful Ala Moana is still there.
@itskitty8083 жыл бұрын
I'm too young to remember Ala Moana when it was in its heyday, but my parents used to talk about how it was in the good old days.. They always mentioned Liberty House and JC Penny's. I remember shopping at Sears with my mom on the weekends. So sad when it was announced that it was going to shut down. When Shirokiya moved to its current location I was kinda sad. Loved going there when it was at its original location. Youngbloods like myself won't remember Ala Moana as it used to be because we obviously weren't around.
@GulfIslandRock2 жыл бұрын
Been there so many times . Love Mamas Pasta in the food court
@jesuscastillo33352 жыл бұрын
God bless the people of Hawaii, my wife and me stay at the Ala Moana hotel last July, celebrating our 2nd Honeymoon, even with the pandemic problems, the beautiful people of Hawaii and the Hawaiian weather were always gorgeous and beautiful, We intent to move back permanently in a couple of years, Mahalo beautiful Hawaii.
@jeffyoung60 Жыл бұрын
Wow! Even I don't remember Woolworths there. My heyday years were the 1970s and I remember Ala Moana Shopping Center as it was then. It's a real circus now. Just try getting in and out of there today with all the traffic.
@edgregory14 ай бұрын
Thanks for informing us how modern Honolulu came to be.
@donnapascual26653 жыл бұрын
I remember going there every week; a couple of times a week with my mom in 1970’s. Remember shopping at Liberty house, and several of the smaller shops which I can’t remember I mean I’m 60 now so this goes back several years LOL.
@plumeria83573 жыл бұрын
One of my favorite places! Can't wait to go back.
@jasontroy39113 жыл бұрын
I won't shop there now it's just an extension of waikiki high end shopping and the mall I once knew is long gone
@lilykam56054 жыл бұрын
In the 60's and 70's, the teenage boys and girls always went to the mall level by the escalators to check each other out!🤣🤣🤣
@hebneh3 жыл бұрын
Meanwhile, the old men sat outside Sears, next to Long's.
@barbarashirland90784 жыл бұрын
Made me so homesick!
@plumeria83574 жыл бұрын
Me too Barbara. I’m still hoping to visit sometime this year. Carol
@ruk52582 жыл бұрын
Love the GAF Viewmaster effect
@pepperfamily2773 жыл бұрын
I live next to a Ala Moana so still go there often
@czt1dave5 жыл бұрын
Ala Moana is NOT Hawaii's center! It now caters to tourists and upscale (rich) people. It is Ala Moana Shopping Center in name only.
@sirekumasutra70224 жыл бұрын
What replaced it out of curiosity?
@christopherdeguzman11374 жыл бұрын
Totally agree. The days when you could go to shop there and not break your wallet. The days hay days of locals shopping was from 50’s-90’s. The 00’s was like you said geared towards tourists.
@christopherdeguzman11374 жыл бұрын
Sire Kumasutra well, a lot of the budget friendly stores kinda went out of business or just lost its lease and of course competition. JC Penny is now gone, Wool Worth’s went out of business, Thomacan shoe stores, Sears, just to name a few. There many stores than can lease there that is more budget friendly, but is filled with high end stores like Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Gucci and other high end stores that does not cater to the average local. Times have changed Now that you have Walmart, Target, Best Buy, online shopping and so forth, Ala Moana is just that, a brick and mortar Tourist Mall.
@Post_Stall_Maneuver3 жыл бұрын
You don't say. It's literally in Waikiki, the world's capital for tropical vacations. Malls in Hawaii, hell, most retail in Hawaii is geared towards tourism becuase TOURISM IS THE STATE INDUSTRY. THE ONLY REASON WE EVEN HAVE A LARGE AIRPORT BECAUSE WE HAVE TOURISTS.
@czt1dave3 жыл бұрын
@@Post_Stall_Maneuver OK Millennial. Was a time when Ala Moana was mostly locally owned businesses. More locals hung out there than tourists. Tourism was NOT Hawaii's one trick pony. Sugar and pineapple thrived. There was a perceived boundary to Waikiki that ended in the Ilikai/Kaiser Hospital area, because the Ilikai was the last big hotel along Ala Moana Blvd.
@ElseAndrecool Жыл бұрын
and now Ala Moana is where the first Chick-fil-A on Oahu opened
@captaina44583 жыл бұрын
I don’t know any local people that shop at Ala Moana center. If you go there and look at the people shopping, it’s MOSTLY rich Asians and Caucasian’s.
@lgv30513 жыл бұрын
Hey don't forget about the homeless folks. They are a big part of Alamoana
@rapman53633 жыл бұрын
Good!
@andrewsoupene10283 жыл бұрын
I'm local and I do one percent of my shopping there.
@michelleogata27743 жыл бұрын
I miss Liberty House, Ferrels, and Lynn’s Deli.
@mmm16913 жыл бұрын
And Patti’s Chinese Kitchen!
@itsalwayssunnyinpahoa76319 ай бұрын
“🎶 Ooh, Ah, Oh Wow, Ala Moana!🎶”
@alexanderbanos81253 жыл бұрын
They forgot to mention when Liberty House became Macy's in 2001.
@mariec42753 жыл бұрын
I remember Liberty House...wow. Memories.
@ih8utbeАй бұрын
I remember Farrells ice cream, Shirokiya, Liberty house. I remember when muumuus were being worm and aloha wear. Not much at all anymore. Like i said the Aloha spirit has died .
@keahithefieryone85133 жыл бұрын
Was known as the largest Shopping Center back in the day
@lanilok36964 жыл бұрын
Mahalo. Always interested in Honolulu’s changes. Will this pandemic bring about a new change?
@l82nite2 ай бұрын
It used to be for the people of hawaii. Not anymore. It's for the tourist and criminals. I grew up going to Ala Moana. Saw it's changes through the years. The 1970's was it's best years. Now not so much. Last time I've been there was over 15 years ago. Never missed it. kind of sad.
@Dota2TVLivestream4 жыл бұрын
COVID 19:"2020 Ala Moana Center shut down."
@computergroup2563 жыл бұрын
Great video!
@BobbyHo20222 жыл бұрын
Ala Moana will continue to evolve in unexpected way... yeah, like charge for parking...
@suneagle1232 жыл бұрын
I stopped enjoying da mall once sears closed. It hasn't felt the same ever since. They changed the food court from a cool looking dark ocean area with neon lights to some very generic eating area. It does not feel special anymore. There are too many tourists that ruin my enjoyment. I only still go to ala moana center because the bus system has a hub there At least they still have da koi fish.
@raiderfrankdatank4 жыл бұрын
I miss the camera shops.
@jamiejack7643 жыл бұрын
Went there in 2016,interesting place but a nightmare to work out where you were and where shops where.
@Hawaiilovesart3 жыл бұрын
how many Ala Moana businesses are owned and operated by Hawaii based and run companies? maybe ABC store....now it mostly international brand chains with high priced made in china stuff. could be any mega mall anywhere , like even atlanta or Dallas
@JasonB8083 жыл бұрын
The large Koi pools are gone. I think there is a small pool that still remains I think. They could have removed it already because when your not looking for it, it’s easy to miss. Unlike before where It was huge and was the main feature for Ala Moana for a very long time. Infact there was a large Hanging Koi Sculpture near the middle where the stage is. I get it. It’s very expensive to maintain the koi ponds. There are many upscale stores. Too many. COVID-19 has closed many of them and only a few have reopened. Unless deep pocket Asian tourists come back, it’s unlikely these upscale store will ever reopen. It made for a very empty shopping center which is very strange when it’s usually packed with tourists and shoppers. The shoppers have rebounded a bit due to recent stimulus from the government.
@OriginalMangereBoy714 жыл бұрын
Nice place.
@allenmartin93753 жыл бұрын
Ala Moana Center has ceased to be Hawaii's center. It has become a place for the wealthy and elite. Auwe
@llwil20033 жыл бұрын
Missing Liberty Hoisd Macy’s should have kept the brand and sales Zooper sale
@Jessiemats4 жыл бұрын
Cool
@lujenny1222 Жыл бұрын
Woolworth, JCPenny⋯⋯1980…
@Toast08083 жыл бұрын
“A place where our grandparents came as children?” LOL. What generation are you talking to? My Grandparents were adults when Ala Mona was built and my PARENTS came to Ala Moana as 13/14 year olds when it opened!
@stewl50814 жыл бұрын
Criminal, grey shirt. Ted's Bakery. Suns. Cocaine. A customer? "Is there somewhere else you can sit?"
@bamahi7142 Жыл бұрын
Still get plenty rats. That hasn't changed in 60 years either.
@paulhetherington38544 жыл бұрын
I was, there in, 87,88
@japanismyhobby78864 жыл бұрын
I was there from 83 to 89
@toddsubjent71424 жыл бұрын
Lived Hawaii & shopped there often '87 thru '93. How it has changed from those closed long-term retailers to highend $ upscaled! Always enjoyed center stage local entertainment I miss ! Now expanded with SEARS gone I hope locals still enjoy that at least!🤙 ALOHA!
@brucesi3 жыл бұрын
Wasn't this an indoor mall in the 90s? I remember going to an indoor mall a lot when I lived there around 1991.
@TheHaloRed Жыл бұрын
Nope. Ala Moana was always an outdoor mall. The indoor malls are Pearlridge Center, Kahala Mall and Windward Mall.
@brucesi Жыл бұрын
@@TheHaloRed thanks... I think it was Pearlridge Center that I'm thinking about.
@kaudogg3 жыл бұрын
Let's be real. Ala Moana sucks now!!! They should have left it alone after the late 90s early 2000's. I absolutely hate going there now with all the new development
@jimbob2763 жыл бұрын
shame ala moana is not even owned locally, owned by big mainland corporations just like all the other malls here what a shame. I don't shop there it caters to the rich foreigners and mainlanders