Original stores in the Rooftop Shops strip center opened in 1993.
Photo from http://www.loopnet.com
A contemporary aerial view of KAHALA MALL. Looming in the distance is Diamond Head, an extinct volcano. Running along the right side of the image is the Lunalilo Freeway (a.k.a. Interstate H-1). This section of elevated expressway, built over Wai'alae Avenue, opened to traffic in June 1969.
Photo from http://www.loopnet.com
"Book him, Dan-O." Jack Lord, star of CBS-TV's "Hawaii Five-O" series, frequented KAHALA MALL. A commemorative bust of the actor, created by Lynn Weller Liverton, was installed at the shopping hub in 2004.
Photo from https://imagesofoldhawaii.com
Amazingly enough, KAHALA MALL has been promoted with the same logo since January 1970. We at the Mall Hall Of Fame applaud this nod to tradition and posterity.
Graphic from https://www.kahalamallcenter.com
We wrap up our WAI'ALAE-KAHALA excursion with a circa-2024 site plan. In its present state, the mall encompasses around 414,000 leasable square feet, with a retail roster of ninety-eight stores and services. Among the newer entries are Macy's (2001), Whole Foods Market (2008), Ross Dress For Less (2014) and Planet Fitness (2023).
WAI'ALAE CENTER / KAHALA MALL
Wai'alae and Kilauea Avenues
Honolulu City & County, Hawai'i
Ground was broken for Hawaii's second mall-type shopping complex in May 1953. An initial 8.9-acre construction site was located 4.7 miles southeast of downtown Honolulu, in the Wai'alae-Kahala area of the city.
WAI'ALAE ["wiy-uh-liy"] CENTER was developed by the Bishop Estate of Honolulu, a charitable trust created by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. The open-air mall was designed by Victor Gruen, of Los Angles' Victor Gruen Associates, Rudolph L. Baumfeld, a Gruen Associates architect, and the Honolulu-based firm of Rothwell & Lester.
A mall-wide grand opening was held on November 4, 1954. The Stage 1 complex encompassed approximately 27,300 leasable square feet and housed seven store spaces. The largest was leased as a (17,000 square foot) Piggly Wiggly supermarket. Other charter tenants included Benson Smith Drug and the Dutch Girl Pastry Shoppe. Free parking was provided for 400 autos.
In January 1957, the Bishop Estate announced plans for a major expansion of WAI'ALAE CENTER. A 2-level (75,000 square foot), Honolulu-based Liberty House became the first operational Stage 2 store, on February 15, 1958.
By October, several other businesses had opened. These included Honolulu Savings & Loan, MidPac Lumber Company, Kahala Florist, Music City records and a (13,000 square foot) F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. WAI'ALAE CENTER now covered 160,000 leasable square feet. The parking area accommodated 1,500 autos.
The entire 26-acre mall site began to be developed in the late 1950s. New peripheral structures included the twenty-lane Wai'alae Bowl (May 1959) and JoJan (Joe Fatt & Jan Moresi) Restaurant (November 1959). The Piggly Wiggly supermarket had been rebranded, as a Western Super, on January 16, 1959. By 1964, the grocery was operating as a Star Market. Meanwhile, a (20,000 square foot) Longs Drugs had been built on the south end of the shopping complex. This store welcomed first customers on August 18, 1963.
The freestanding JoJan restaurant closed its doors in May 1966. A new owner re-opened the facility, as Reuben's Restaurant, in September of the same year. In July 1966, WAI'ALAE CENTER was sold to the Kahala Center Company. This entity -a subsidiary of Los Angeles' Phillip Lyon Company- now owned the physical mall structure. However, the land beneath it was still owned by the Bishop Trust. The Kahala Center Company announced a second major mall renovation and expansion in February 1967.
This remodeling project, which would enclose all courts and concourses, was plagued by various construction problems over the next 2 years. Demolition work commenced in November 1968, with a great deal of the mall being razed. Liberty House, Star Market, Longs Drugs and Woolworth's were left standing.
Liberty House and Woolworth's were enlarged. Liberty House grew to 92,400 square feet, with Woolworth's being expanded to 31,000. A new shopping concourse was built along with a 2-level (75,000 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store opened its doors on November 12, 1969. The remodeled Woolworth's was dedicated on April 29, 1970, with Liberty House rededicated on September 27th. Construction on inline stores and the new shopping concourse had been completed by June 1970.
A new name was bestowed as part of the 10 million dollar enclosing renovation. The shopping hub would be known, henceforth, as KAHALA MALL. The first enclosed and air-conditioned shopping center on The Islands, it encompassed approximately 350,000 leasable square feet. Inline stores added during the renovation included Carol & Mary ladies' wear, Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour, Granat Jewelers, Harvest House Coffee Shop, Morrow's Nut House and a 2-level (20,900 square foot) McInerny's junior department store.
The next mall addition brought a 1-level (14,500 square foot), San Francisco-based Joseph Magnin. This octagonal store opened for business on October 22, 1973 and closed for good on March 1, 1983. The vacant building was leased by the Carole & Mary chain, who incorporated a (1,300 square foot) Alion boutique into their operation. The combined store began business on August 1, 1983. Alion relocated into its own mall space in November 1987. The Carole & Mary KAHALA store went dark on July 31, 1992.
A third mall renovation was done after J.C. Penney pulled up stakes, in January 1985. The abandoned store was divided into nineteen tenant spaces and the 5-screen Consolidated Amusement Company Kahala Theatres. The movie house showed first features on December 19, 1986. It re-opened as an 8-plex in November 1989. With these improvements, KAHALA MALL encompassed approximately 370,000 leasable square feet.
Reuben's Restaurant had been renamed -as the Spindrifter Restaurant- in November 1976. This eatery shut down in November 1993. The building was demolished and replaced by a (20,000 square foot) Barnes & Noble Superstore, which opened on April 7, 1995. At this time, KAHALA MALL spanned 407,000 leasable square feet and was managed by San Francisco-based MMI Realty Services, Incorporated.
The Star Market grocery was rebranded, as a Whole Foods Market, on September 10, 2008. Barnes & Noble closed for good in January 2014. Ross Dress For Less leased the space and was officially dedicated in October of the same year. Liberty House had established a Men's Store in the vacant Carole & Mary building in October 1992. It was rebannered, as Macy's The Men's Store, on November 22, 2001; this done along with the "Macy-ation" of the adjacent Liberty House. Macy's The Men's Store was shuttered on March 14, 2022. Planet Fitness moved in and opened for business on March 21, 2023.
Sources:
The Honolulu Advertiser
https://www.qpublic.ne / City & County of Honolulu Real Property Assessment Division
https://www.kahalamallcenter.com
https://www.kahalamallcenter.com (website on Internet Archive Wayback Machine)
https://www.kitv.com
https://www.hawaiiliving.com
"Kahala Mall" article on Wikipedia
FAIR USE OF WAI'ALAE CENTER IMAGE:
The image from Architectural Forum / January 1956 illustrates a key moment in the mall's history that is described in the article. The image is not replaceable with a free-use or public-domain image. The use of the image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute it in any way. The image is being used for non-profit, informational purposes only and its use is not believed to detract from the original image in any way.
