Kālia Rd.

In Hawaiʻi, names are very important.
Did you know you could learn more about Hawaiʻi and our history if you paid attention to the given names of our island roadways?
Our weekly “Aloha Authentic” segment highlights various streets across the islands so we can dig into those names, and in turn, learn something new.
This week, we highlight a street in Waikīkī.
In the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī, which lies in the moku of Kona here on Oʻahu, stands a roadway which name translates to “waited for.”
Weʻre talking about Kālia Rd.
Kālia is the name of a section of land that falls within the ahupuaʻa of Waikīkī.
As recently as the 1930s, the shore of Kālia was described as “one of the most productive seafood producing bays ever known.”
The fishermen of the Kālia area caught so many fish that they became known as “human fishnets.”
Stories about this land include one about a husband who was waiting for his wife after she was wooed away by a rival Maui chief.
By the turn of the 20th century, fishponds filled much of what is known today as Fort DeRussy, including Waikīkī’s largest, Kaʻihikapu.
In 1908, the US military acquired 72 acres of that land.
They drained it and filled it in with over 250,000 cubic yards of sand and coral.
Today, Kālia Rd begins at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the area where Duke Kahanamoku spent much of his youth.
It then continues into Waikīkī, passing by the US Army Museum of Hawaiʻi.
What was once known as Battery Randolph, the building of the museum was constructed with reinforced concrete walls and a roof up to 12 feet thick.
Efforts were made to demolish the building via wrecking ball, but failed.
The use of dynamite was rejected as too dangerous.
The museum was dedicated in the year 1976.
Did you know? Now you do!