Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii: History Of Its Transformation From A .

ing toward Diamond Head. The RoyalHawaiian-Moana Hotels Beach is in theforeground, and Kuhio Beach, with thecrib wall breakwater (known as the “slippery wall,” Clark 1977) at top center.Figure 6 is a 1986 oblique aerial photofrom offshore Diamond Head, with theElks Club, Outrigger Canoe Club Beach,and Sans Souci (Kaimana) beaches nearthe bottom right of the photo; the Natatorium and Kapiolani Park Beach/Queen’s Surf Beach at the center; andKuhio Beach Park at top left.Figure 7 is an aerial photo from 1999of Magic Island (Aina Moana) at the left,Ala Wai Canal entrance channel and AlaWai Yacht Harbor at left center, DukeKahanamoku Beach and Lagoon andFort DeRussy Beach at top right and center right. Figure 8 is an aerial photo from1998 of Kewalo Basin at the left side,Ala Moana Beach Park and dredgedchannel in front of the beach at the center, and the west side of Magic Island(Aina Moana) at the top right.Waikiki hosts several shorefrontparks. These include Kewalo Basin StatePark, Ala Moana Beach Park, Magic Island (Aina Moana State RecreationArea), Fort DeRussy Beach Park, KuhioBeach Park, and Kapiolani Park Beach.Shore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2CARBONATE SANDWaikiki beaches are narrow, as can beseen in the photographs. What is not apparent is that the sand cover is thin andshallow — the limestone bedrock underthe sand is probably at about -2 feetMLLW. Several reports mention that seawalls at Waikiki were built on a coralfoundation with the coral bed close to lowwater (e.g., Engineering Association ofHawaii 1927; Crane 1972; Noda 1991).Professor Ralph Moberly of the University of Hawaii (1968; 2001) estimated thequantity of sand on Waikiki Beach in1968 to be about 70,000 cubic meters(92,000 cubic yards). This was in thereach from the San Souci area (KapuaChannel) to the seawall west of the RoyalHawaiian Hotel. Shallow patches of sandonly a few feet thick are on the reef flat.As part of an ecological survey of the reefin the early 1970s, the type of bottom wasclassified as sand, rubble, limestone, livecoral, etc. (Chave et al. 1973). It wasestimated that 36% of the bottom insidethe reef crest (approximately the 1fathom depth contour), and 39% outside,were sand substrate. There is not muchsand on the beach or reef. However, hardbottom shoals on the reef flat are important for surfing.The native sand on the beach and reefSpring 2008was created and transformed on the reefby biochemical, bioerosion, and mechanical processes (e.g. Moberly et al.1965; Stearns 1938; USACE 1950; U.S.Congress 1953; Gerritsen 1978). Detailsmay be found in Wiegel (2002). Moberlyet al. (1965) say: “It is rather a misnomer to speak of ‘coral sand’ as coral is apoor fifth in general order” of sand components in Hawaii’s carbonate beaches.Native sand on Waikiki Beach and mostother Oahu beaches is carbonate, withconstituents in the order of abundancebeing: foraminifera, mollusks, red algae,echinoids, corals, and Halimeda (e.g.,Moberly et al. 1965). There does notappear to be sand in the Waikiki Beachlittoral system from the local streams,except for a trivial amount (U.S. Congress 1953; Gerritsen 1978).Analyses of four samples of sand fromthe intertidal zone of the beach in Waikiki(exact locations not given) in July 2000had a different order of abundance thangiven above (Hampton et al. 2002), withcoral and coralline algae being the mostabundant. However, much of the sand inrecent years on Waikiki Beach and itsextension through Ala Moana BeachPark, has been brought from other locations on Oahu and Molokai - for beachnourishment, and for beach construction,Page 5

Figure 2.Waikiki, Oahu,Hawaii. Aerialphoto, 9September 1920,lookinglandward overshore; taropatches, ricepaddies.ApuakehauStream mouth(almost closedby beach sand),Moana Hoteland pier incenter. (U.S.Army Museumof Hawaii,USAMH No.1716.)where sand is placed on top of a basemade of crushed coral rock dredged fromthe nearshore (Wiegel 2002). Examplesof beach nourishment may be seen atKuhio Beach and Kapiolani Park/Queen’s Surf Beach. Examples of constructed beaches are at Ala Moana Beachand Fort DeRussy Beach. In 1970, legislation was passed making it illegal tomine sand from beaches in the state ofHawaii after 1975 (Campbell andMoberly 1978).When Horton (1948) inspected theWaikiki Beach area prior to the majorbeach fills, he noted the sand grains weremostly cream colored and light tan. Closeinspections of the sand made by the author walking on the beach in recent years,found that the sand appeared to be similar in color.FRINGING REEF — SURFINGAND OUTRIGGER CANOEINGThe sport of surfing, or surf-riding,was revived and became popular in theearly 1900s. Modern surfing essentiallystarted at Waikiki. Locations of the surfing sites at Waikiki are shown in Figure9. Surfboards became long and heavy,with the modern lighter and more maneuverable boards being developed aboutfifty years later. The legendary greatOlympic athlete Duke Kahanamoku introduced the 10-foot long surfboard inabout 1910. The Outrigger Canoe Clubwas established in 1908 (Grant 1996),and the clubhouse/boat house built at theedge of the beach at the mouth of theApuakehau Stream just west of thePage 6Moana Hotel. It housed several hundredupright surfboard lockers filled withboards of all sizes and colors (Blake1955, in Dixon 1966). It closed when theclub moved to its new building nearKaimana (Sans Souci) Beach at the endof 1963 (Clark 1977).Jack London visited Waikiki in 1900,where he learned to surf. He describedvividly how he learned, the dangers associated with surfing, and his enjoymentof what he called “a Royal sport” in hisbook The Cruise of the Snark (1911, asreproduced in Blake 1966).A detailed presentation of technicalinformation about surfing is in the extensive report by James R. (“Kimo”)Walker: Recreational Surf Parameters(1974). One of Walker’s observations isthat the majority of “surf shoals” (wherewaves transform and break) in Hawaii are“comprised of coral, basalt, and beachrock, which remain essentially stableunder wave attack; while sand shoals mayshift with changing wave conditions.”Details of two of the popular surfing siteson the reef at Waikiki are given, one isQueen’s off Kuhio Beach; both are atcoral bottom shoals that remain stable.As mentioned elsewhere, in planning andimplementing beach restoration, modification, and nourishment, it is necessaryto preserve the surfing breaks.STREAMS FLOWEDTO THE SEA AT WAIKIKIA century ago, most of the shore wasa narrow ribbon of carbonate sand be-tween wetlands and the wide fringingreef, and there were mud flats where AlaMoana Beach Park was constructed. Thesubsurface geology of this coastal plainis a complicated mix of horizons/lensesof lagoonal deposits, marsh deposits,sand and coralline debris, coral ledges,alluvium, cemented sand, cinder, clinker,tuff, and basalt (Ferrall 1976; Noda1994). Several streams flowed into thesea, as shown on the 1907 map by Dove(Figure 10). An aerial photo taken in1920 (Figure 2) shows ApuakehauStream at the center left (almost closed),and the Moana Hotel and pier. Rice paddies, taro patches, duck ponds, and fishponds can be seen in this photo and inhistoric photos in the Bishop Museum.Several are reproduced in the book byHibbard and Franzen (1986).One of the historic photos of streams atthe beach is shown in Figure 3a lookinginland from the mouth of Ku’ekaunahiStream in 1886, at what is now KuhioBeach. An old postcard, circa 1912, showsthe Apuakehau Stream to the left of theMoana Hotel and pier (Figure 3b) Note thatthe stream mouth is closed.Several streams are shown enteringthe sea on Bishop’s (1881) modified mapof Waikiki (1881, 1888, 1922, 1952): thePi’inaio at the west side of where FortDeRussy is now; the Apuakehau betweenwhat is now the locations of the Moanaand Royal Hawaiian Hotels; and theKu’ekaunahi (labeled “HamohamoStream” on Dove’s map) at Kuhio Beach.Note that on Bishop’s map the HawaiianShore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2Spring 2008

words “muliwai,” which means estuary,and “loko,” which means fish pond areused. A copy of this map may be foundin Wiegel (2002), but is not reproducedherein (a modified version is in Hibbardand Franzen 1986).In addition to fresh water flow ontothe reef, during heavy rainfall and flooding events the streams transported largeamounts of silt and clay to the shore. ThePacific Commercial Advertiser (May1913) quotes G.H. Buttolph of theOutrigger Canoe Club:“.during each freshet in Moana Valley or higher in the hills the flood watersare carried in torrents down the stream,bringing debris and mud in much quantity (sic, and) the beach is fouled anduninviting. The surf for some distance oneach side of the mouth of the stream isgenerally muddy and uninviting to bathers. Last Sunday I went to the beachwith some tourist friends.and found thewater as thick as mud. It was disagreeable to look at, and certainly an offensive place for swimming.”A similar comment was made byKinau Wilder (1978) in her book Wildersof Waikiki; her family home was on thebeachfront. Wiegel (2002) contains acopy of an aerial photo in color taken bythe author about a week after an extremerainfall event showing the turbid waterShore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2Figure 3a (above). Ku’ekaunahi Stream, looking inland from mouth, 1886. (A.Mitchell, Bishop Museum, Neg. No. CP 56428.)Figure 3b (below). Historic postcard, circa 1912, Apuakehau Stream to left ofMoana Hotel and pier; note stream mouth closed. (Island Curio Co., Jas.Steiner, Honolulu.)on the reef a few miles east of DiamondHead, also illustrating this phenomenon.It was suggested that ApuakehauStream be diverted into the lagoon inKapiolani Park, and then into the seathrough a sluice gate (Pacific Commercial Advertiser May 1913). In 1914 it wasrecommended that “one of the streamsbe blocked, and then, from the end of theother, a pipe be run out well beyond thereef.” (Honolulu Star Bulletin 1914).Neither of these projects were imple-Spring 2008mented. Rather, the Ala Wai Canal, draining, wetlands reclamation and mosquitocontrol projects were completed in the1920s.ENCROACHMENTAND SAND REMOVALVegetation grows rapidly in this climate, and the bare sand beach was naturally narrow. The beach was encroachedupon by people building homes, otherstructures, and landscaping, Figure 11.The postcard photo (circa 1910) shownPage 7

in Figure 12, is of the Seaside Hotel(opened in 1906), its lawn and seawall,and a narrow beach. This was at the siteof the present Royal Hawaiian Hotel.Historic photos of buildings and seawallsare in the Bishop Museum Photo Collection, and in the books by Hibbard andFranzen (1986), Brown (1985), andGrant (1996).Owing to encroachment, much of thebeach at Waikiki disappeared from viewunder structures and landscaping, withsome excavated for foundation preparation (e.g. at the Royal Hawaiian Hoteland at the present Outrigger Canoe Clubbuilding).As mentioned in a previous section,there is a mix of geologic horizons/lensesin the Waikiki area. Major problems occurred during the construction of theRoyal Hawaiian Hotel. A large part ofthe building started to sink into theswampy soil, and a significant redesignand construction modification was required, doubling the cost of the hotel(Cohen 1999; Peralta, 2002).Figure 4. Map of Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii; names of sectors added to USGStopographic map, edited 1983 (adapted from U.S. Geological Survey).Figure 5. Royal Hawaiian and Moana Hotels Beach, with Kuhio Beach at topcenter; 24 June 1986. (By R.L. Wiegel, #5894.)Large quantities of sand were removed many years ago from Waikiki. In1910 the Pacific Commercial Advertiserreported on a meeting of the Hawaii Promotion Committee — the article’s headline was:“Spoiling the Waikiki Beach. HowHonolulu’s World-famous Bathing Resort is Being Ruined. Heavy Removal ofSand.”According to the article:“.thousands of loads of sand removedfrom the Waikiki Beach stretches havecaused the present deplorable condition ofthe bathing beaches. Much of the enormous amount of sand was removed fromthe premises of Queen Liliuokalani. In addition . the federal government is also removing large quantities of sand to be usedfor construction purposes. The removal ofsand should be stopped. The accumulationsof centuries and the contour of the beachformed in centuries was being marred bythe sand removals of the present day. Aletter will be written to Major Winslow,Corps of Engineers, U.S.A., and to theLiliuokalani Estate, asking them if theycould not get sand elsewhere than on thebeach frontages.”At a later date, owing in part to encroachment onto the beach and removalPage 8Shore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2Spring 2008

of sand, it was decided to bring sand tothe shore from other areas for beachnourishment. Projects where this wasdone are described subsequently. Forpossible future work, offshore sources ofsand have been investigated (Cascianoand Palmer 1969; Moberly Jr. andCampbell 1969, revised 1972; MoberlyJr., Campbell, and Coulbourn 1975; Edward K. Noda and Associates, Inc. June1991; Sullivan and Bodge 2000).DREDGED CHANNELSAND BASINS IN THE REEFChannels, basins, and ponds havebeen dredged in the reef for reasons including to obtain fill material, for navigation, for small craft harbors, and forswimming and sea bathing. About onehalf of the shore between Kewalo Basinon the northwest (“Ewa”) side, and theElks Club near Diamond Head is frontedby about a dozen of them. Several ofthese dredged areas can be seen in aerialphotos. In Figure 13 are Kewalo Basinand its entrance channel through the reef,and the Ala Moana Beach Park, with itsshore-parallel channel, and the entrancethrough the reef along the west side ofMagic Island (Aina Moana); see also Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 shows the entrancechannel to the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor andAla Wai Canal, the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, and Duke Kahanamoku Beach. Anavigation channel was dredged in the1950s through the reef for the HiltonHawaiian Village Hotel catamaran dockbasin. The connecting channel betweenFort DeRussy and Halekulani Channel,and the Halekulani Channel through thereef can be seen in aerial photos of Figures 1 and 14. Part of the connectingchannel can be seen in an aerial photograph, Figure 15. The shore-paralleldredged channel between the KewaloBasin and the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor canbe seen in a 1930 oblique aerial photo,Figure 16. Other aerial photos are instructive, although not reproduced here.An example is a 16 February 1949 photothat shows the channel in front of the AlaMoana Park before the beach was constructed, and the Ala Moana Yacht Harbor and canal before the entrance wasdredged through the reef (Bishop Museum Photo Collection, No. c.p.126,191). A chart in Horton’s paper(1948) shows this channel dredged to adepth of 12 feet.aerial photos. But what about smallerworks such as the removal of coral tomake sea-bathing more comfortable? A1910 article in the Pacific CommercialAdvertiser, reports that Mr. Campbell,Superintendent of Public Works, said: “.as far as the removal of coral is concerned, he believed funds would be forthcoming to prosecute the work. . A swimin the beach at present is a decided disappointment, owing to the sharp clumpsof coral which tear bathers’ feet.Hebelieved that the matter was of such public interest that the public would backupany effort to free the bathing places fromcoral.” Moberly et al. (1963) wrote: “thecenter area of reef off the [sic, beach]hotels and Kuhio Beach had been largelycleared of coral heads for the convenience of swimmers.”Dredged basins and channels for harbors and navigation are easy to see inDredged features such as these affectcoastal forcings and processes: waves,Shore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2Figure 6. Waikiki Beach; aerial photo from offshore Diamond Head, 16 January1986: Elks Club and Outrigger Canoe Club (at bottom of photo), Sans Souci(Kaimana) Beach, Natatorium, Kapiolani Park, Queen’s Surf Beach, and KuhioBeach (top). (By R.L. Wiegel, #5581.)Spring 2008currents, and sand transport and distribution. Little quantitative information isavailable about the details of their actionsand effects.In the following section dredging on thereef done for Fort DeRussy is described,including a channel through the reef. Figure 17 is a copy of part of the chart NorthPacific Ocean, Sandwich Islands,Southside of Oahu, U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, No. 867, (1880; hydrographic surveys in 1840, 1873 & 1875).Note that Kapua Entrance is shown, butno channel is shown in the vicinity of whereFort DeRussy was subsequently built.FORT DERUSSY DREDGINGAND CONSTRUCTIONThe main construction of FortDeRussy in the Kalia area of Waikiki wasbetween 1909 and 1911, and the placement of the first of two 14-inch coast arPage 9

Figure 7. Magic Island (Aina Moana), Ala Wai Canal entrance channel, Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, Duke Kahanamoku Beachand Lagoon, Fort DeRussy Beach. Aerial photo, 30 January 1999. (By R.L. Wiegel, #9523.)tillery guns was in 1913. This is describedby Dorrance in The Coast Defense StudyGroup Journal (1998; 1999) and inHibbard and Franzen (1986). Dorrance(1998) says:“On November 12, 1908, Headquartersand Company A, First Battalion of Engineers, arrived under the command of Maj.E. Eveleth Winslow. Winslow soon hada hydraulic dredge on site that blastedthrough the offshore reef, dredged a channel to the shoreline, and deposited thedredged bottom sand and coral within thereservation. By the end of 1910 the dredge’swork was done and construction of fortifications could begin.”A suction dredge was used to obtainmaterial for fill from the reef in front ofthe reservation. It was pumped througha pipe to the site (Thompson 1985).Thompson also states (1985):“In preparation for the arrival of the69-ton guns, a deep channel was dredgedthrough the reef in front of Fort DeRussyso the cannon could be barged from Honolulu to as close to the battery as possible.”Dorrance (1999) says:“Delivery of the 69-ton guns . wasanother matter. . [sic, the ship] Lurlinewas directed to Pearl Harbor, where aheavy duty floating crane was located. On August 2, 1913.the navy crane offloaded the gun onto a barge. Three dayslater the gun-bearing barge was towed toWaikiki Beach where it was pushedthrough the reef and aground in front ofBattery Randolph’s parapet. .The channel [sic, that was previously] dredged forbottom sand and fill was deepened andwidened for this operation.”Figure 8. Kewalo Basin, Ala Moana Beach Park, Magic Island (Aina Moana); aerial photo, 19 January 1988. Notedredged channel in front of the man-made beach. (By R.L. Wiegel, #6354.)Page 10Shore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2Spring 2008

The Pacific Commercial Advertiser (6August 1913) reported (underlining foremphasis):“At an early hour yesterday morning,the barge bearing the gun was taken intow by Young Brothers’ launch Hukiwhich drew the unwieldy craft up thecoast to the Hau Tree channel throughwhich it picked its way to that runningparallel to Fort DeRussy.”The dredged area in front of FortDeRussy, and the dredged connection tothe Hau Tree channel (now known as theHalekulani sand channel) are depicted ina sketch map by Moberly Jr. (1968). Aportion of the same area can be seen in a1999 aerial photo, Figure 14, and in a1919 aerial photo, Figure 15. A commentin Hawaii’s Shoreline (State of Hawaii,Dept. Planning and Economic Development 1964) is: “An old seldom used boatchannel offshore from the HalekulaniHotel is filled with sand twenty feet deepand extending beyond the reef.” [As anaside, refer to Figure 17; this bathymetric chart of 1880 does not show an entrance through the reef at this location.]Figure 16 is an oblique aerial photo(28 July 1938) which shows severaldredged channels. Fort DeRussy is at thelower left, Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in thecenter, and Ala Moana Beach Park andKewalo Basin at the upper left. A channel between Fort DeRussy and the AlaWai Yacht Harbor can be seen. The channel was not deep all the way, being lessthan six feet at the west end of FortDeRussy [See bathymetry on map dated15 May 1950 of Waikiki Beach, Oahu,Hawaii; date of survey August-November 1948; Plate 1 of the USACE Honolulu District report (1950) and U.S. Congress (1953).] This channel was probablydredged subsequent to the original FortDeRussy work.In her book Wilders of Waikiki, KinauWilder (1978) says:“There was a raft, which the Waikikiresidents had paid for, just offshore nearour house. .And then the army broughtin an eighteen (sic 14) inch gun to Fortde Russey (sic, DeRussy), right next tothe old Lewers place which is now thefamous Halekulani Hotel. .Theybrought it by barge . In order to reachthe emplacement, it was necessary tobreak through the reef just beyond thespot where our raft floated. This comShore & BeachVol. 76, No. 2Figure 9. Locations of surf sites at Waikiki. (From Edward K. Noda & AssociatesInc., July 1991.)pletely changed the pattern of the currents. The beach at Waikiki was neverthe same. Instead of the reef holding thesands of the beach and preventing themfrom being carried out by the changingtides, the sand was swept through the holein the reef, never to return. What hadbeen a glorious beach -- which no otherbeach on earth could touch -- was nothing. Property owners lost anywhere fromten to thirty feet of their ocean frontage.Everyone was forced to put up seawallsto keep from losing their houses as well.Instead of running from the grass righton out to the ocean, we had to go downslippery steps to a miserable little stripof sand which, during certain months,was non-existent. At times I could jumpfrom our seawall right into the water.”[Note: The Sheraton Waikiki Hotel wa

occurred in the 1880s and 1890s — a few homes, several bath-houses, and small hotels, some built partly on piles. Seawalls, groins, and several piers were constructed. The Natatorium was built from shore 200 feet onto the reef in 1927. The Ala Wai Canal and Ala Wai Yacht Harbor were also constructed.