Aloha Tower (Downtown Honolulu)

 monument, lighthouse

The Aloha Tower is a lighthouse that is considered one of the premier landmarks of the state of Hawaii. Opened on September 11, 1926 after five years of construction, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu Harbour. It has and continues to be a guiding beacon welcoming vessels to the city and Honolulu. Just as the Statue of Liberty greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants each year to New York City, the Aloha Tower greeted hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Honolulu. At 10 stories and 184 feet (56 meters) of height topped with 40 feet (12 meters) of flag mast topped by a time ball, for 34 years the Aloha Tower was the tallest structure in Hawaii. The beacon on top can be seen 20 miles out at sea. The tower was the center of controversy in the Territorial Legislature, even during its construction and a 7-story compromise was suggested to those who wanted no tower at all. It was built in Hawaiian Gothic Architecture. Architecturally, the tower is a mix of Art deco elements applied to traditional Gothic Revival. The tower has a 12-foot diameter, 7-ton bronze clock on each of its four sides which occupies the missing floor between the 9th floor office and the 10th floor observation deck. When the clock strikes 4, shopping, food and drink specials signal "Happy Hour at the Tower". As a welcome, between each clock face and balcony, the word "ALOHA" is etched in large letters. Over 5,000 people visit the tower's observation deck weekly. Only 24 visitors are permitted on the observation deck at any one time. The State Harbours Division has their offices on the 9th floor.

During WWII, the Aloha Tower was painted in camouflage, which was not sandblasted off until 1947.

In 1981, the Government of Hawaii and the Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic development, and Tourism established the Aloha Tower development Corporation. The public corporation was charged with developing the land around the Aloha Tower in such a manner as to benefit the state's commercial trade industry based at Honolulu Harbour while at the same time providing the residents of Hawaii with ample access to the downtown waterfront. The entire Aloha Tower complex, as defined by the public corporation, was identified as Piers 5 and 6, Piers 8 through 23, and portions of Nimitz Highway and Iwilei.

In 1982, the Hawaiian Maritime Centre was opened near the Aloha Tower in an old royal pier to present the history of Honolulu Harbour and the relative industries it served. Docked at the royal pier is the Falls of Clyde, a historic shipping vessel. In 2002, the Hawaii Maritime Centre became an incorporated institution of the Bishop Museum. In 1994, the Aloha Tower Marketplace opened making Honolulu Harbour the only harbour in the nation to combine a visitor attraction, retail and restaurant outlets and working commercial harbour facilities at a single location.

The Aloha Tower Development Corporation continues its work today with plans to modernise the facilities and infrastructure in and around the Aloha Tower Complex. Its most significant hurdle is to find a way of making travel through Nimitz Highway more efficient. In 2004, a controversial proposal was made to construct an underground highway tunnel beneath the complex. Other proposals include the establishment of streetcars, elimination of commercial high-rises in the area and increase of high-rise residential units instead. State officials want to close the parking lot fronting the Aloha Tower and destroy the adjacent Hawaiian Electric Company Power Plant, then fill the space with a park. In consideration of heightened security measures after 9/11, tourist access to the observation deck was restricted, but has since been reopened.

The Aloha Tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and Hawaii Historic Landmarks in 1981.

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