The Wyandotte news-herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1943-1963, 1945-02-08
Henolulu. The Island Capital

A free translation Of Honolulu"
Is fair haven" AS Honolulu is the
port of entry, the industrial and adj
ministrative center Of the islands,
and their largest city, 1t Is only
logical that we start our tour Of the
islands here. AS you may know,
this unusual town Is located on the
Island Of Oahu, the fourth island in
size but the first island In popula-
ton. Oahu will be taken up In de-
tail another time-right now we're
interested In Honolulu.
The city is nestled in between
the blue Pacific and q series of VAL
leys rising steeply into the noun
tains characteristic Of all the islands.
In the background Is the Punch.
bowl, an extinct crater where Char
lie Chan is supposed to have re-
sided. And down the coast o little
is the Waikiki Beach section with
the famous Diamond Head at its
far border.
AS Q whole, Honolulu is q beau
tiful city. There is no doubt about
1t. And 1t Is an interesting and
fascinating city. There 10 no doubt
about that. I find 1t hard to I'm
agine q more cosmopolitan city-a
city that 5 strange and romantic
and foreign, and at the same time
very familiar and similar to main
land cities.
Perhaps 1t is the population that
helps create this sensation. Such q
mixturel Chinese, Japanese, Fill
pinoS, Portuguese. Koreans, Caucas-
ians and once in q while you even
find full-blooded Hawaiian. The
latter are quite rare, ] assure you.
as the geographic limitations Of the
islands have promoted large fami-
lies and blending of the races.
Everyone seems to be related to
everyone else III some way or other.
As you approach Honolulu from
the sea the most prominent edifice
is the Aloha tower, a tall lookout
tower with ALOHA" carved in
huge letters at its top. However
for pure architectural beauty such
buildings as the magnificent Public
Library and the modern City Hall
easily win the prize. The sight Of
Iolani Palace, where Hawaiian mon
archs once reigned. transports the
mind back to the days before Ha-
vail joined the United States. The
old days when King Kamehameha
held absolute rule over the islands
with all the regal splsndor of o
true monarch. A statue of the dead
king stands across King Street and
faces toward the palace which is
now used as the capitol building of
the islands.
Behind Honolulu extends the
Nuuanu valley. Old and stately
homes compete with the beauty of
modern mansions, and the land
scaping and natural vcrdure of the
valley make it one of the beauty
spots of the city.
All is not beautiful in Honolulu.
About five blocks from the business
center of town Is the notorious Riv-
er Street where dozens of houses of
prostitution flourished until last
September when they we're closed
by gubernatorial proclamation.
Not far away is the Japanese Sec
ton with literal maze of Japanese
language characters lettarsd ON the
shop fronts despite the widespread
campaign to speak American" The
former Japanese Theatre Is now
periodically called the American
Theatre and no longer features
Japanese movies. The peculiar odors
Of sukiyaki and Saimin drift from
the dingy little restaurants.
Just as picturesque as the Japa-
nese section Is the Chinese section.