Aloha Tower - The Harbor's Front Door

Photo: PaulT (Gunther Tschuch), CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Historic Downtown Honolulu Walk, a free self-guided tour.

When it opened in 1926, this 184-foot tower was the tallest building in Hawaii, and it stayed that way for about forty years. Its clock faces each spell out ALOHA, and for ships steaming into Honolulu Harbor it was the first sight of the city.

In the era before jet travel, steamer arrivals were known as Boat Days. Crowds packed the piers, the Royal Hawaiian Band played, and passengers came ashore buried in flower lei. Many immigrants also stepped off here to start new lives on the islands, making the tower something like Honolulu's Statue of Liberty. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 it was painted in camouflage and guarded by the Coast Guard.

Today many cruise ships tie up at the piers right beside you. Take the elevator to the open observation deck on the tenth floor for a free view over the harbor and downtown; it closes in bad weather, so check the hours. The marketplace around the base has cafes and restaurants facing the water.

Getting here: Walk makai down Bethel Street toward the harbor, cross Nimitz Highway at the light, and continue to the tower at the water's edge.

Did you know?: Besides greeting ships, the tower once worked as a lighthouse, guiding vessels into Honolulu Harbor.

Photo op: Walk out along the pier promenade and look back to catch the whole tower, clock and flagpole included, against the sky.

More on Wikipedia: Aloha Tower · Honolulu Harbor · Royal Hawaiian Band

Aloha Tower - The Harbor's Front Door

Stops on this tour