Kona International Airport
The land above the bay is part of the Parker Ranch. In 1960 the area was a remote, barren, hot lava field unsuitable for cattle grazing. William F. Quinn, the governor of the new state of Hawaii, invited Laurance Rockefeller to visit the islands as part of a study for a federal commission that Rockefeller chaired. After visiting the ranch, Rockefeller was taken for a swim in the bay. Plans for a resort began in January 1961. The state agreed to pave the Hawaii Belt Road (called the Queen Kaahumanu highway for this section) to the site and build a new Kona International Airport. Rockefeller bought the land of the nearby Puukoholā Heiau and donated it for a National Historic Park. Original plans were to use architect John Carl Warnecke and build a series of small cottages, but those plans were abandoned. Instead firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill was hired to use a modern style.