ALA MOANA CENTER
Ala Moana Boulevard and Piikoi Street
Honolulu City & County, Hawai'i
The first mall-type shopping center in Hawai'i was a small (68,000 square foot), open-air complex. MOANALUA CENTER, in the northwestern environs of Honolulu, opened for business in August 1954. WAI'ALAE ["wiy-uh-liy"] CENTER, in the city's southeastern stretches, was dedicated in November 1954.
The Aloha State's third mall-type shopping hub was also built on the island of O'ahu ("The Gathering Place") and was situated on a 44-acre tract, midway between Waikiki Beach and downtown Honolulu. The land parcel was entirely within the City and County of Honolulu. Construction commenced on March 18, 1958.
The open-air complex was erected upon reclaimed swampland and developed by the Dillingham Land Company, who commissioned Seattle's John Graham, Junior to design the 2-level structure. It cost 28 million dollars, encompassed approximately 680,000 leasable square feet and was anchored by a 2-level (250,000 square foot) Sears.
A "soft opening" took place on August 13, 1959. In attendance were Walter F. and Lowell Dillingham (the mall's developers), Morley Theaker (manager of Sears), William F. Quinn (R) (Governor of Hawai'i) and Neal S. Blaisdell (Mayor of Honolulu). Grand opening festivities included an invocation, military color guard flag raising, choral and musical presentations and a hula performance. Fourteen stores opened their doors. The center's official grand opening was held on October 25, 1959.
By 1961, there were ninety tenants. These included McInerny's Men's, Longs Drugs, Philippine Arts & Crafts, Ala Moana Coffee Shop & Down Under Bar, a Foodland supermarket, Japan-based Shirokiya ["shuh-doh-ki-yuh"] department store and 2-level F.W. Woolworth 5 & 10. The retail core of the mall was surrounded by a bi-level parking deck that accommodated over 5,000 cars.
The first expansion of ALA MOANA CENTER got underway in January 1965 and was completed in mid-1966. This tri-level addition, referred to as the Diamond Head Wing, included a 3-level (245,000 square foot), Honolulu-based Liberty House. This store, the new flagship of the chain, opened for business on April 6, 1966.
Liberty House was accompanied by a 3-level (180,000 square foot) J.C. Penney, dedicated on June 1, 1966. Shirokiya relocated into a (53,000 square foot) store in the new wing. In addition, the existing Sears was expanded with a full third level. Sears now encompassed 341,100 square feet and was one the largest suburban stores in the chain.
WAI'ALAE CENTER {4.7 miles southeast of ALA MOANA CENTER} was renovated and re-opened -as KAHALA MALL- in September 1970. The complex was the first enclosed shopping center in the state. PEARLRIDGE CENTER {8.6 miles northwest} began opening in October 1971, with ROYAL HAWAIIAN CENTER {1.2 miles southeast} being dedicated in September 1979.
Liberty House at ALA MOANA CENTER was enlarged, with a fourth level, in 1980. The store now encompassed 326,600 square feet. The next renovation of the shopping venue took place in 1986-1987. The 19-bay Makai Market Food Court was installed in gutted store space on the Street Level. Moreover, Woolworth was downsized and relocated into a single-level store.
In 1990, a Third Level was built on top the 'Ewa Wing (the original section of the mall). This expansion added a 3-level (161,000 square foot) Neiman Marcus to the south side of the complex and new retail space to the Third Level. Neiman Marcus was dedicated on September 18, 1998. In May of the same year, the center had been purchased by Chicago-based General Growth Properties.
The new century brought more changes. Liberty House was "Macy-ated" on November 22, 2001. J.C. Penney closed on January 10, 2003, with its area being sectioned into thirty new stores and restaurants. Moreover, a fourth mall level, the Ho'okipa Terrace, was completed in 2005.
In 2006, work began on the Mauka Wing, a sixth addition to ALA MOANA CENTER. This brought a 3-level (220,000 square foot) Nordstrom and 80,000 square feet of new stores. The expansion was dedicated on March 7, 2008. It increased the gross leasable area of the mall to approximately 2,100,000 leasable square feet, confirming its position as the largest open-air mall in the world.
A Liberty House department store became the first tenant to open at the mall site, in October 1971. It was the fifth location in the Honolulu-based chain.
The .2 mile Skycab commenced operation in November 1977. Today, it is the only remaining shopping center transit system in the USA (there were others in Fort Worth, Texas and Dearborn, Michigan). Apparently, the Skycab system is currently not in operation.
Photo from Wikipedia / "Musashi"
PEARLRIDGE CENTER
Kamehameha Highway and Kaonohi Street
Honolulu City & County, Hawai'i
The fourth shopping mall on the island of O'ahu was built 7.5 miles northwest of the Hawai'i State House, in the Aiea ["iy-ah-ay"] section of Honolulu. PEARLRIDGE CENTER was to eventually occupy 51.8 acres of a 67.9-acre plot. The parcel was shared with the 13.3-acre Sumida (watercress) Farm. The land on which PEARLRIDGE CENTER was built was leased from the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Trust Estate.
The mall was developed by the Kaonohi Center Company, which was a joint venture of E. Phillip Lyon, Sheldon M. Gordon, Ed Brennan, John Fujieki and the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. A PHASE I structure was designed by Robert P. Gersin Associates of New York City.
A 2-level (109,000 square foot), Honolulu-based Liberty House became the first store to open at the site, on October 28, 1971. Liberty House anchored the 2-level PHASE I mall, along with a 2-level (102,900 square foot) J.C. Penney. This store welcomed first shoppers on May 16, 1972.
Fifty-six PHASE 1 stores opened in June 1972. These included Joseph Magnin, ABC Discount Drugs, Ritz Store, Playwell Toys, Foxmoor Casuals, Hartfield's apparel, Pearlridge Book Nook, See's Candies, Thom McAn Shoes and a Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour & Restaurant.
