Gorillas Go Hawaiian!
On today's "Anything Goes Saturday", we will visit the island paradise of Hawaii! Pass the poi, please.
Here's a beautiful vintage view of Diamond Head, the distinctive volcanic cone in Honolulu (on the island of Oahu). Besides being a nice photo, you can tell that it is pretty old due to the lack of monstrous beachfront hotels.
In fact, the photographer panned to the left just a bit to capture the famous Royal Hawaiian hotel - one of the first hotels established on Waikiki Beach; notice the barbed wire barrier, in place to impede any Japanese soldiers who might try to invade via submarine. So we can date these pictures to WWII!
I am not 100% positive that this is Hawaii (there was at least one photo in the lot that is definitely from Casablanca in the 40's), but it sure looks like it could be. Anyway, it ties in to the WWII theme, showing a military airfield in the distance - not to mention gorgeous mountains and clouds.
Zooming in on the planes, we can see the distinctive tails of some B-24 Liberators - heavy bombers that were used throughout the war. B-24's were introduced in 1941, and the Ford Motor Company manufactured over 18,000 of the aircraft. One of Ford's factories turned out 650 of the planes in a single month!
10 comments:
All of these photos are definitely of Oahu.
In the second image, the white hotel on Waikiki Beach is the Moana Hotel, not The Royal Hawaiian Hotel. The Royal Hawaiian would be west of the Moana.
The third image shows one of the mountain ranges of Oahu. I've driven by this area many a time when visiting family in the Kapolei/Waianae area from HNL, but I can’t place exactly where it is.
K. Martinez is right about the Moana. The Royal Hawaiian has a very distinctive skyline and is painted an equally-distinctive Pepto-Bismol pink.
This may be Kipapa Army Airfield, which was inland from Pearl Harbor and Hickam AAF but south of Wheeler AAF and Schofield Barracks in what's now Mililani Town. Kipapa was a major stopover base for units headed overseas. At least two B-24 units were stationed there in 1942-43 before deploying further westward, although they would have been painted olive drab instead of the late-war natural metal finish you see in these pictures.
You have uncanny timing Major! I know you set up these posts ahead of time too.
I turn on the computer and what is one of the first stories I see. Oahu is dissolving from the inside based on a new geological survey.
So enjoy those photos now. And great one's they are. They have that whole 40-50's "From here to eternity" look all over them. LOVE any photos of the islands but that era is the best.
Well done as usual!!!
Seconding K Martinez, the white hotel is the Moana.
A tiny bit of the Royal Hawaiian is visible in photo 2 at the extreme left of the frame, behind the palm trees. The classic pink color is here more of a muddy terracotta, but the tilted shutters give it away.
Just to the left, out of the frame, and in the modern day, we would see the Royal Hawaiian cocktail lounge outdoor seating.
Also notice the sailors in whites sitting on the benches along the "boardwalk".
Also, what Chuck said. Given the context of the other photos, highly likely the mountains behind that airfield are central Oahu.
Major, very cool pics today.
Can't wait for Casablanca.
JG
It's hard to beat vintage photos of Disneyland, but Hawaii comes in a close second. Awesome pics!
In Pic #2 there's a long board just coming ashore. I wonder if that's a young Duke Kahanamoku getting his surf on?
Bill in Denver
Where's Vincent Price, chasing a bunch of pesky kids into a cave full of archaeological treasures?
I tried stitching the first two pics together and they didn’t quite match but it did give a rather nice panorama view.
K. Martinez, I should have known about the hotel, since the Royal Hawaiian is that distinctive pink color! Thanks for the correction.
Chuck, ditto about the hotel… as for Kipapa Army Airfield, it always amazes me what people know!
Alonzo, you are right, I composed this post weeks ago. Oahu is dissolving from the inside?! What the heck?
JG, clearly you have been to Hawaii at least once or twice! I haven't… unfortunately. And the Casablanca shot is pretty interesting! There is a detail that I am puzzled by, and I know my readers will fill me in.
Snow White Archive, I'll have to go through my vintage Hawaii pictures and see what else is worth sharing here.
Bill, oh, if only I could confirm that it was Duke!
Melissa…. best episode of the Brady Bunch ever?
Anon, I thought about attempting to stitch the two pics together, but between the waves, the people, and the shoreline, I decided that I didn't want to fuss with it.
You know, looking at the second picture again, without the modern hi-rise hotels to change the scale, you really get a sense for just how big a structure the Moana is, especially for a building built in 1901. Never really noticed that driving down Kalakaua, but then again I was always distracted by that annoying requirement to avoid hitting pedestrians and other cars, and I never made it any further east on foot than the International Marketplace.
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