Mōʻiliʻili, Hawaii is a neighborhood of Honolulu CDP,

City and County of Honolulu Honolulu County (), officially known as the City and County of Honolulu (formerly ''Oahu County''), is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Hawaii, one of five counties in the state. The city-county includes both Urban Honolulu ( ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, on the island of

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

. Its name means “pebble lizard” in Hawaiian. The commercial district at South King Street and University Avenue in Mōʻiliʻili is the closest such district to the

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Hawaiʻi system and houses the main offic ...

. The H-1 Freeway is located between University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the business district.Magin, Janis L. "Land deals could breathe new life into Moiliili." ''

Pacific Business News American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes ''The Business Journals'', which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States with each market ...

''. Sunday July 1, 2007
1
Retrieved on October 5, 2011.

History

The community changed from being an agriculture-centered town to an urban area in the early 20th century. 80% of Mōʻiliʻili's population was of Japanese origins as of the 1930 U.S. Census. The development of the H-1 Freeway took away commercial traffic that previously patronized Mōʻiliʻili's businesses. For a 40-year period before 2007, various members of the area community considered developing Mōʻiliʻili into a

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

environment. Around 2002 Evan Dobelle, the president of the

University of Hawaiʻi System A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, said that he would prioritize developing a college town. He also discussed the idea of moving the UH system offices from

to Mōʻiliʻili. In 2007

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 ...

bought of land from

Pacific Theatres Pacific Theatres was an American chain of movie theaters in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California. Pacific Theatres was owned by The Decurion Corporation which also owned and operated ArcLight Cinemas. In 2008, it sold its store loca ...

, including the Varsity Theatre and the Varsity Office Building, increasing its landholdings in Mōʻiliʻili to 11.4 acres (4.6 ha), mostly along South King Street and University Avenue. The Varsity Theatre, in operation since 1939, was demolished in March 2008.

Description

A small and local community, composed of numerous small businesses such as florists, imported goods, ethnic foods and surf gear and apparel, the major focus of the small community is centered on the area of University Avenue and King Street, . Located beneath the busy intersection of South King Street and University Avenue lies a complex system of caves known as the Mōʻiliʻili Karst. Originally the underwater stream was fed by the Manoa stream, but it has since been rerouted. A natural pond was formed and the popular Willows restaurant centered on this natural phenomenon. However, construction to the UH athletic fields and surrounding businesses caused collapses and rerouting of the underground waterway, and forced the owners to cement in the pond, making it now an artificial pond. Several species of fish and plant life live in this system of caves. This cave system is not open to spelunkers and is accessible only by a city sewer grate.

Transportation

The area is serviced by Honolulu's TheBus service, including routes 1/1L, 4, 5, 6, 13, and 18.

Education

Hawaii Department of Education The Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE, ) is a statewide public education system in the United States. The school district can be thought of as analogous to the school districts of other cities and communities in the United States, ...

operates public schools in the area, including King William Lunalilo Elementary School, Prince Jonah Kūhiō Elementary School, and Queen Kaʻahumanu Elementary School. A number of charter and private schools also exist, including Voyager Public Charter School and

ʻIolani School Iolani School is a private coeducational K-12 college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. It serves over 2,200 students with a boarding program for grades 9 - 12 as well as a summer boarding program for middle school grades. Founded in 18 ...

Maryknoll School Maryknoll School is a private, coeducational Catholic Church, Catholic school serving children in kindergarten through twelfth grade in Honolulu, Hawaii, Hawaii. The school is located on the island of Oahu, Oahu and is administered by the Roman Ca ...

and

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

are located near the border of the

Mānoa Manoa (, ; ) is a valley on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. It is a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. The neighborhood is approximately three miles (5 km) east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile (1600 m) from ...

neighborhood.

Parks and recreation

The

operates Mōʻiliʻili Neighborhood Park. The Mōʻiliʻili Community Center was established around 1950 and originated from the Mōʻiliʻili Japanese Language School, a Japanese-language school established by Kihachi and Shika Kashiwabara in 1906. At its pre-World War II peak this Japanese school had over 1,000 students. Non-Japanese persons transferred board positions to non-Japanese and had a Boy Scout troop moved into one of the school's buildings to prevent the school from being confiscated during the war. The Mōʻiliʻili Community Association received the school's lands and assets in 1945, leading to the establishment of the community center. In 1996 the community center had programs for 660 children and about 600 adults of all ages.Watanabe, June.
Moiliili Community Center

. ''

Honolulu Star-Bulletin The ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii (after the ''Honol ...

''. October 24, 1996. Retrieved on April 16, 2015.

References

External links

*Mōʻiliʻili Community Center: http://www.moiliilicc.org/ *Mōʻiliʻili Matters (Resident Social Networking Site): http://www.moiliilimatters.com {{Authority control Japanese-American culture in Honolulu Neighborhoods in Honolulu