Clouds over Liliha-Kapalama (12577309804)

Kapālama, now often called Pālama, is a neighborhood of

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

. It is often combined with the adjacent

Kalihi Kalihi is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi, United States. Split by the Likelike Highway (Route 63), it is flanked by downtown Honolulu to the east and Mapunapuna, Moanalua and Salt Lake to the west. Kalihi is th ...

and referred to as a single entity, Kalihi–Pālama. Kamehameha School Kapālama Campus

History

The name comes from ''ka pā lama'' in the

Hawaiian language Hawaiian (', ) is a Polynesian language of the Austronesian language family that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language o ...

which means "the enclosure of lama wood". "Lama" is the Hawaiian name for endemic

ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

trees of genus ''

Diospyros ''Diospyros'' is a genus of over 700 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. The majority are native to the tropics, with only a few species extending into temperate regions. Individual species valued for their hard, heavy, dark tim ...

'' that were used in religious ceremonies. Traditional land divisions ('' ahupuaa'') in

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the unification in 1810 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporadicall ...

were agricultural units that ran from the seashore to mountains. The shoreline areas of Kapālama were later developed into part of

Honolulu harbor Honolulu Harbor, also called ''Kulolia'' and ''Ke Awa O Kou'' and the Port of Honolulu , is the principal seaport of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii in the United States. From the harbor, the City & County of Honolulu was developed and urbanized ...

. The upland areas of Kapālama developed into ‘Ālewa Heights, and the main campus of

Kamehameha Schools Kamehameha Schools, formerly called Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), is a private school system in Hawaii established by the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate, under the terms of the will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was a formal membe ...

. Other educational institutions range from

Honolulu Community College Honolulu Community College is a public community college in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is one of ten branches of the University of Hawaii system and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. HCC's strengths are in its industr ...

to the Kapālama Elementary school. Palama Street at , and Kapālama Avenue at , are named for the neighborhood. The Kapālama Stream starts at and then runs into the Kapālama canal and basin. To the northwest is the neighborhood of

, and to the southeast

downtown Honolulu Downtown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, and governmental center of Honolulu, the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the nor ...

. The Kapalama Military Reservation, constructed for logistical support in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

was scheduled to close. A museum has been proposed in a building that served as a

morgue A morgue or mortuary (in a hospital or elsewhere) is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have cus ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in the 1960s. The Palama fire station at 879 North King Street was added to the

National Register of Historic Places listings in Oahu __NOTOC__ This is a list of properties and districts on the Hawaiian island of Oahu that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Oahu is the only major island in Honolulu County. The location of the city of Honolulu, Oahu is the mo ...

as site 76000661 April 21, 1976, along with other Fire Stations of Oahu. It was designed in 1901 by

Oliver G. Traphagen Oliver Green Traphagen (3 September 1854 – 21 October 1932) was an American architect who designed many notable buildings in Duluth, Minnesota, during the late 19th century and in the Territory of Hawaii during the early 20th century. Among h ...

. The

Kaumakapili Church Kaumakapili Church is a Gothic Revival church located at 766 North King Street in the Kapālama neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. It was originally established on April 1, 1838, at the corner of Smith and Beretania Streets as a Protestant church ...

was moved to 766 North King Street after the 1900 fire in

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

. It was originally established on April 1, 1838, as a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church for common people, to supplement the Kawaiahao Church which was generally intended for nobility. From 1881 to 1888 a new brick and wood-frame structure was built. Temporary services were held until the new structure was built. Ground was broken on May 7, 1910, and the new building dedicated on June 25, 1911. It is located at the southern end of Palama Street at After much damage through the years, members raised US$2.4 million for a renovation starting in 1993 of the

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

building.

Peter Cushman Jones Peter Cushman Jones (October 12, 1837 – April 23, 1922) was a businessman and politician during the Kingdom of Hawaii, Provisional Government of Hawaii, Republic of Hawaii and Territory of Hawaii. He founded the second bank in the Hawaiian Is ...

established a Palama Chapel in the area in 1896. After the 1900 fire, James Arthur and Ragna Helsher Rath added social services to the center and called it

Palama Settlement Palama Settlement is a nonprofit social service agency located in Honolulu, Hawaii that was established in 1896. It currently serves the Kalihi and Kāpalama neighborhoods of Honolulu. History In September 1941, Palama hosted future baseball ...

. The center, located at 810 North Vineyard Boulevard at Palama Street continues to offer community recreation and educational programs. The martial art of

Kajukenbo Kajukenbo (Japanese: カジュケンボ) is a hybrid martial art from Hawaii. It was developed in the late 1940s and founded in 1947 in the Palama Settlement of Palama, Hawaii. The name Kajukenbo is a combination of the various arts from which ...

was developed at the Palama Settlement.

History

References

Further reading