Consisting of the neighborhoods of Salt Lake, Moanalua, and Aiea, West Honolulu is surrounded by military bases including Fort Shafter, Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Camp Smith, and Tripler Army Center. Three main Oahu highways – the H1, H201, and H3 – also connect the area, along with Honolulu International Airport – making it a convenient commute to anywhere on the island or around the world.
The green suburban West Honolulu community is comprised of parks, golf courses, and hiking trails, which complement the many residential options: single-family homes, townhomes, and high- and mid-rise condominiums. With a desirable location, better public schools, and green spaces, West Honolulu is a convenient and comfortable community that many Oahu families call home.
What Is The History Of West Honolulu?
Before you embark on a West Honolulu adventure, share with your kids (in an age-appropriate manner) a little about the history of the community
Here are some fun facts to include in your conversations:
- The Moanalua ahupua‘a, or land division for early Hawaiian inhabitants, once stretched from the mountains above Salt Lake to the sea, where the Honolulu International Airport is located today. In the center of the ahupua‘a was a nearly one-mile wide shallow lake, formed by saltwater seepages and freshwater springs filling the Āliapa‘akai crater.
- Water evaporated and left salt deposits – which were a commodity to Hawaiians and explorers. After extreme salt exports, plantation runoff, an artesian well, sewage pipes, and eventually the filling of the lake in 1966, all that remains of Salt Lake today is a pond on the golf course at the Honolulu Country Club.
- After the Great Mahele allowed ownership of Hawaii lands, the Moanalua ahupua‘a passed through the royal Hawaiian family – from King Kamehameha V to Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani and then to Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
- In 1884, Samuel Mills Damon became the main owner of the land, leasing lots to the Honolulu Plantation Company for sugarcane production and utilizing the Moanalua hillside for cattle grazing. Rice and bananas were also grown in the rich soil.
- The U.S. Government began purchasing land in the area around 1914, eventually establishing the bases of today. In 1956, the Damon estate sold much of the former Moanalua ahupua‘a land to residential and commercial developers, catalyzing the post-state construction of the suburban neighborhood.
