Kakaʻako Waterfront Park, also known as "Point Panic Park", is a

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

Kakaʻako Kakaʻako is a commercial and retail district of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi between Ala Moana near Waikīkī to the east and downtown Honolulu and Honolulu Harbor to the west. Kakaʻako is situated along the southern shores of the island of Oʻahu, H ...

, south of

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 n ...

, just off Ala Moana Boulevard at the end of Cooke Street. It was opened in November 1992 on the site of a former municipal

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the wast ...

and consists of of grass-covered rolling hills adjacent to the ocean. There is no sandy beach at this location, and access to the ocean is by concrete stairs. The park has bathrooms, water fountains, free parking, picnic tables, an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

, pay telephones, paved jogging paths, and two popular

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

spots, "Point Panic" and "Flies". In October 2017, the park was closed in order to address

homeless people Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

setting up encampments there then reopened in January 2018. Management of Kakaʻako Waterfront Park was done by the Hawaiʻi Community Development Corporation for nearly 20 years. In late 2019, the 40 acres of land that makes up the Kakaʻako Waterfront Park was transferred from the state of Hawaii to the city of Honolulu. The John A. Burns School of Medicine, part of the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Haw ...

, is located inland and adjacent to the waterfront park. A Memorial to the ''Ehime Maru'' Incident victims is built at the Kakaako Waterfront Park.

Sculptures in the park

* ''Lahui'', a silicon bronze sheet sculpture by

Sean K. L. Browne Sean Kekamakupaa Lee Loy Browne (born 1953) is a contemporary sculptor who was born in Hilo, Hawaii. He attended the Kamehameha Schools and then earned a BA in studio art from the University of Redlands in 1975. In 1981, he studied marble car ...

, 1992 * ''Ano Lani'', a

bronze sculpture Bronze is the most popular metal for Casting (metalworking), cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply "a bronze". It can be used for statues, singly or in groups, reliefs, and small statuettes and figurines, as w ...

by Frank Sheriff, 1993 * A monument to the dead of the Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision

Gallery

Point Panic Beach Park.jpg, Bodysurfing area at Kaka'ako Waterfront Park Skyline from Kaka'ako Waterfront Park.jpg, Skyline panorama from Kaka'ako Waterfront Park

References

Parks in Hawaii Protected areas of Oahu Protected areas established in 1992 Tourist attractions in Honolulu Geography of Honolulu 1992 establishments in Hawaii {{Honolulu-stub

Sculptures in the park

Gallery

See also

References