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Honolulu Hawaii Holiday Ornament - Aloha Tower

Honolulu Hawaii Holiday Ornament - Aloha Tower

Regular price $28.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $28.00 USD
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Aloha Tower. For forty years, this tower was the first thing you saw of Hawaii and the last thing you saw of it - and both times there were crowds on the pier and streamers in the water.

Aloha Tower opened in 1926 at Pier 9 in Honolulu Harbor, ten stories and a clock on each face, briefly the tallest building in the islands. In the era before jet travel, everyone arrived by ship, and Boat Day was a civic event: bands on the dock, lei sellers, divers going in after coins thrown from the rails. The tower carried the word ALOHA on all four sides, so that the greeting and the farewell were the same word, which is precisely how Hawaiian works.

Air travel ended Boat Day and very nearly ended the tower's purpose. It survived anyway - restored, dwarfed now by the towers behind it, still keeping time over a working harbor. It stands for a version of arriving somewhere that no longer exists: slow, ceremonial, and met by a crowd.

For the kamaaina far from home, the returning visitor, anyone who has watched a ship come into that harbor.

Below are excerpts from our Honolulu history page. The Honolulu town logo and the full town story are available through the collection link above.

Printed on a three-inch faceted crystal glass round, white-backed so the architectural line stays crisp and the wreath's green reads true on a lit tree. The faceted edge catches light from any angle. Arrives boxed - white or gold gift box, your choice at checkout.

3-inch (76 mm) round crystal glass ornament · faceted gem-cut edge · white-backed print for crisp contrast · red ribbon hanger · your choice of white or gold gift box, included · free U.S. shipping.


QUICK FACTS — HONOLULU HI CRYSTAL ORNAMENT — ALOHA TOWER

Town: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

Founded: Kingdom capital 1845; city and county 1907

Known for: Capital of Hawaiʻi since 1845; Diamond Head and Waikīkī; Honolulu Harbor and the 1926 Aloha Tower; the Koʻolau Range

Art: Aloha Tower, original Merlin Classics engraving

Blank: 3-inch (76 mm) round clear crystal glass ornament, faceted gem-cut edge

Print: white-backed for contrast; red ribbon hanger

Packaging: white or gold gift box, chosen at checkout

Made to order in the USA



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Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

The twentieth century made Honolulu strategic as well as central. Pearl Harbor, west of downtown, grew into a major naval base, and on December 7, 1941 the attack there brought the United States into World War II — a day of great loss that is remembered now at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. After the war the city boomed, and in 1959 Hawaiʻi became the fiftieth state, with Honolulu as its capital. Through territory, war, and statehood, the harbor city remained the islands' unquestioned center of government, trade, and life.

And through all of it, Honolulu kept its place at the heart of island culture. Waikīkī, just down the shore beneath Diamond Head, grew into the birthplace of modern beach tourism — and the place where Hawaiian watermen carried surfing to the world, a heritage that spread the word "aloha" across the globe. Today's Honolulu layers all of this together: a Native Hawaiian homeland, a former royal capital, a great Pacific port, and a modern multicultural city, all gathered beneath the same crater on the same sheltered bay.

Why People Visit Honolulu

Honolulu offers the full range of Hawaiʻi in one place — royal and wartime history, world-class museums, and a famous shoreline, all in a walkable, welcoming capital city. Visitors come for Diamond Head, the beaches, and the heritage downtown, and stay for the food, the culture, and the easy access to the rest of Oʻahu. From the palace to the crater to the harbor, it rewards both a quick visit and a long stay. It is historic, cosmopolitan, and unmistakably Hawaiian.

Honolulu Hawaii Merlin Classics retro vintage logo featuring the Hawaiʻi hibiscus above Hawaiian Kingdom Est. 1795