Existing comment:
"Waikiki Beach has been so skillfully publicized that the name brings a wistful yearning for exotic romance, for relaxation and freedom from care on a magic, distant shore."
-- Charles McKew Parr, Over and Above Our Pacific, 1942
On the Beach at Waikiki
Despite its ramshackle farms and houses and mosquito-infested wetlands, Waikiki had long been a popular place for rest and recreation. It had been a favored spot for Hawaiian chiefs from before the arrival of Captain Cook.
To accommodate the rising tide of tourists expected to visit the new U.S. territory, Hawaiians built resort hotels on the beach, drained the wetlands, and made sweeping improvements. The tourist tide rose indeed and flooded into Waikiki. |