That second life had a price. To drain the wetlands — officially against mosquitoes, in practice to turn marsh into buildable land — the territory dug the Ala Wai Canal between 1921 and 1928, diverting the very streams that had given Waikīkī its name. The taro patches and fishponds were filled, the Hawaiian families who farmed them displaced, and the spouting waters stilled. What rose in their place was the modern resort district the world now knows — built, quite literally, over the drained breadbasket of old Waikīkī.
Today Waikīkī is where the world learns to surf. The royal sport the aliʻi rode here became a global one through Duke Kahanamoku, the Kālia boy turned Olympic champion, whose bronze statue now stands on the sand with arms spread wide in welcome. Outrigger canoes still launch through the breakers, hula and music drift from the beachfront, and beneath the towers the old name endures — Waikīkī, the spouting waters, a royal shore that taught the world to ride the waves. Our designs carry that older, deeper name with pride.
Why People Visit Waikīkī
Waikīkī offers a whole world in two miles of sand: the birthplace of modern surfing, royal history beneath the hotels, Diamond Head at the end of the beach, and the easy warmth of Hawaiian hospitality. It is the most famous beach in the Pacific — and for the surfers, paddlers, and families who live and gather here, simply home.
