East meets West and old meets new.
Downtown is the pulse of Hawaii, the hub for economic and financial growth.
Fort Street Mall is the cut off between the oldest and the newest part of town . The financial district of Honolulu consists mainly of banks, insurance buildings, and business towers. The tallest and newest skyscraper is the First Hawaiian Bank tower with its impressive 470 feet. The area between King Street and the ocean, towards Aloha Tower is known as the old merchant district. Until statehood, Hawaii was under control of a consortium of corporations, called the Big Five, which built much of their wealth mainly with land speculation, agriculture such as sugar and pineapple, insurance and the like.