As Honolulu developed and grew, lots of changes happened, including along its waterfront. What is now known as Queen Street was actually the water’s edge.
The reef belonging to the land of Waikahalulu, on the south side of
Honolulu Harbor, had been purchased by the government from the Queen Dowager
Kalama.
Then, from 1856 to 1860, the work of filling in the land to create an
area known as the "Esplanade" or "Ainahou," and building up
a water-front and dredging the harbor to a depth from 20 to 25-feet took place.
Following the demolition of Fort Kekuanohu (Fort Honolulu) in 1857; its
walls became the 2,000-foot retaining wall used to extend the land out onto the
shallow reef in the harbor.
The remaining fort materials were used as fill to create what came to
be known as the Esplanade (it’s where Aloha Tower and surrounding land now
stand.)
Between 1857 and 1870, 22-acres of reef land were added to the downtown
area between Fort Street and Alakea Street; it was filled in with material
dredged from the harbor.
The old prison was built in 1856-57, to take the place of the old fort
(that also previously served as a prison.)
The new custom-house was completed in 1860. The water-works were much enlarged, and a
system of pipes laid down in 1861.
An 1887 Hawaiian Government Survey map of Honolulu shows continued
urban expansion of the Downtown Honolulu area.
Many dredging and filling operations soon followed, and the 1890s and
1900s saw the construction of many new piers and channels in the harbor, the
dredged material going to create new dry land areas.
The dredging of Honolulu Harbor and expansion of the Esplanade soon
followed; major alteration of Honolulu from its natural configuration began in
1890 with the dredging of the main channel to 200 ft width by 30 ft deep for
about 1000 ft through the sand bar at the entrance.
Piers were constructed at the base of Richards Street in 1896, at the
site of Piers 17 and 18 in 1901 to accommodate sugar loading and at Piers 7 and
12 in 1907.
Further dredging was conducted at the base of Alakea Street in 1906.
Yes, lots of changes.
The image shows Honolulu in 1854, in a drawing done by Paul
Emmert. It shows Honolulu just before
these changes and the expansion of land in the downtown area (you can see
people standing on the reef on the right.)
In addition, I have included images and maps of this region in this
relative timeframe (mid-1850s to 1900) in a folder of like name in the Photos
section on my Facebook page.
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