Tourism flourished during the 1950s as scheduled airline services from the west coast were introduced, and the Moana blossomed into a jewel of Honolulu society. Elvis Presley was a frequent visitor to Oahu, and three of his films were filmed on the island, including Waikiki Beach.
The Waikiki Biltmore and Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel were among the first high-rise hotels built on Waikiki during the 1950s. Due to demand, large resort hotels were built in the area, such as the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Halekulani, Hyatt Regency Waikiki, Marriott Waikiki, and Sheraton Waikiki. The Moana Surfrider Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (from the early 20th century) compleated these historic hotels.
#1 Looking more or less west along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue waterfront from the Kuhio Beach Park, 1958
#2 Waikiki Shell, 1960s
#3 The Ala Wai Terrace Apartments looking Diamond Head across the Ala Wai Canal from the Central Branch YMCA on Atkinson Drive, 1959
#4 Water view of hotelier Roy Kelley’s Ala Wai Terrace Hotel and Apartments on the Ala Wai Canal, 1950s
#5 Hotelier Roy Kelley’s Ala Wai Terrace Apartments back when boats that could pass under the Ala Moana Avenue Bridge were allowed to moor along the canal, 1952
#6 Boats moored pretty far up the Ala Wai Canal, 1955
#7 Ala Wai Canal Kapahulu End, 1950s.
#8 Looking inland at the Ala Wai Country Club looking across Waikiki’s Ala Wai Canal, 1951
#9 Looking inland towards Honolulu from the Waikiki side of the Ala Wai Canal, 1950s
#10 Looking west along Waikiki’s Ala Wai Blvd, 1956
#11 Ala Wai Blvd is one of Waikiki’s two east-west thoroughfares, the other being Kalakaua Avenue, 1952
The view here is looking Ewa (west) along Ala Wai from around Liliuokalani Avenue when Waikiki was still a sleepy beach town. The high rise apartment buildings started going up just a few years later. Ala Wai Blvd changed to one way Ewa and Kalakaua Ave to one way Diamond Head 1971.
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#12 Kaiser Medical Center viewed from Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, 1950s.
#13 Diamond Head view of the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel seen from the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1950s
#14 Diamond Head view from an upper floor at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1956
#15 Kalakaua Birdseye. Waikiki, 1956.
#16 Kalakaua Birdseye Waikiki, 1958
#17 Morning light looking Diamond Head along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from an upper floor at the 1955 Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1958
#18 Evening in the islands looking out on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from an upper floor at the 12 floor Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1959
#19 Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki viewed from an upper floor at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1955
#20 Waikiki’s landmark Moana Surfrider Hotel viewed from an upper floor, 1950s
#21 Kalakaua BEV Waikiki East, 1957.
#22 Surfrider from Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1950s.
#23 Moana Surfrider Kalakaua, 1958.
#24 The historic 1901 Moana Hotel viewed from an upper floor at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel across Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s.
#25 Late afternoon at the 1901 Moana Hotel on Waikiki Beach viewed from the Princess Kaiulani Hotel across Kalakaua Avenue, 1957
#26 Surfrider Hotel Kalakaua, 1950s
#27 Storefronts at the modernistic Surfrider Hotel on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue around the time it opened, 1952.
#28 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue viewed from east of the Kaiulani Avenue intersection, 1953
#29 Interesting Street level view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue in front of the Surfrider Hotel back when it was new, 1953
#30 View along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from near the Kaiulani Avenue intersection, 1950s
#31 The Kalakaua Avenue entrance to the 8-story 1952 Surfrider Hotel next to the Moana Hotel in Waikiki, 1955.
You could see right through the hotel to the ocean on the other side. The Surfrider Hotel became the Diamond Head Wing of the Moana Hotel once the new 21-story Surf Rider Tower on the ewa side of the Moana was completed 1969. The open-air lobby shown here is no longer accessible from the street side today.
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#32 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue right in front of the Moana Hotel, 1956.
#33 The old two-story Moana Bungalows on the mauka side of Kalakaua Avenue viewed from an upper floor at the Moana Hotel, 1950s
#34 Street scene looking east along Kalakaua Avenue from the driveway at the Outrigger Canoe club next to the Moana Hotel, 1955
#35 Waikiki’s Moana Hotel viewed from across Kalakaua Avenue around where Don the Beachcomber’s nightclub would have been before the 1957 International Market Place went up, 1950s
#36 Waikiki street scene taken during the filming of the 1956 Jane Russell/Richard Egan WWII drama “The Revolt of Mamie Stover.”, 1956
#37 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue with the Moana Hotel in the background, 1959
#38 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue with the Moana Surfrider Hotel in the background, 1959
#39 Old rocking chairs line the front porch of the Moana Hotel looking out on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s
#40 The Moana Hotel viewed from Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue during the era of the canvas awning, 1955
#41 The 12 story Princess Kaiulani Hotel under construction on Kalakaua Avenue, 1954
#42 View from Waikiki’s Kaiulani Avenue of the 12 floor Princess Kaiulani Hotel around the time it opened, 1955.
#43 On the northeast corner of Kalakaua and Kaiulani Avenues, 1950s.
#44 The Princes Kaiulani Hotel viewed from the busy intersection of Kalakaua and Kaiulani Avenues in Waikiki, 1957
#45 Looking down on the courtyard swimming pool from an upper floor at Waikiki’s Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1958
#46 Looking down at the pool area of the Princess Kaiulani Hotel from an upper floor, 1955
#47 Hawaiian entertainment about to begin at the Princess Kaiulani pool court, 1955
#48 Hula dancers with uli-uli at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel pool court, 1955
#49 The pool at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, with a glimpse of the Moana Hotel across Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s
#50 Looking inland along Waikiki’s Kaiulani Avenue from an upper floor at the 8-story Surfrider Hotel on Kalakaua Avenue, 1958
#51 Unusual mauka view from behind the shops on Kalakaua Avenue between the Moana Hotel and the Outrigger Arcade, 1958
#52 Shoe store in Waikiki on the makai side of Kalakaua Avenue in the Outrigger Arcade complex where the Outrigger Hotel is today, 1950s
#53 Kalakaua Ave Shops Waikiki, 1958.
#54 Looking west along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue at the Outrigger Arcade shops seen from the next door Moana Hotel, 1955
#55 A trio of pretty hula girls posing for a souvenir photo in the Moana Hotel’s porte-cochère on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1952
#56 Slightly shaky but still interesting aerial view looking more or less west along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1959
#57 The Outrigger Canoe Club’s volleyball court viewed from the beach clubhouse looking mauka, 1958
#58 Entrance to the Outrigger Canoe Club in the breezeway behind the Outrigger Arcade shops, 1955
#59 Waikiki Beach and ocean view from an upper floor at the 12-floor Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1956
#60 Beautifully detailed aerial view of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from an upper floor at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1950s
#61 Kalakaua BEV Waikiki West, 1957.
#62 Nice clear birdseye view of the Outrigger Arcade fronting Kalakaua Avenue taken from an upper floor of the then new Princess Kaiulani Hotel, 1955
#63 View from an upper floor at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel across Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1955
#64 Lush tropical gardens on the town side of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1955
#65 Kalakaua Royal Hawaiian, 1952.
#66 Aunty Bella’s lei stand on Waikiki’s Kalakakaua Avenue Street frontage at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel before the parking meters went in, 1952
#67 Aunty Bella’s lei stand on the makai (ocean) side of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue after the parking meters went up 1953
#68 Sunglass Lady Kalakaua Ave, 1957.
#69 Aunty Bella’s amidst the sidewalk sellers along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue on the street frontage of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1957
#70 Aunty Bella’s sidewalk lei stand in its usual spot on Kalakaua Avenue across from the Waikiki Theatre, 1957
#71 Local vendors selling fresh lei and souvenirs along the makai side of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1958
#72 Diamond Head view (more or less east) along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the street front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1958.
#73 A bit shaky but still interesting snap of Kalakaua Avenue seen from a truck lei stand on the street front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel looking towards the old Waikiki Theater, 1956
#74 Lei seller on the sidewalk of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1959
#75 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue at the sidewalk sellers in front of the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1958
#76 Vendors on the sidewalk of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1959.
#77 The gauntlet of Hawaiian jewellery, crafts, and lei sellers on the Kalakaua Avenue sidewalk in front of Waikiki’s Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1958
#78 Sellers on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue along the Royal Hawaiian Hotel Street front, 1950s
#79 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue viewed from the makai (ocean) side of the street with a sidewalk lei seller operating out of an old woodie in the foreground, 1959
#80 Stewarts Pharmacy located in the 1950 Watumull Beach Shops with their distinctive palm tree pukas, 1952
#81 The Watumull Beach Shops built by Walker-Moody Construction on the Kalakaua Avenue side of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1955
#82 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the northwest corner with Lewers Street towards the Watumull Beach Shops, 1953
#83 Diamond Head along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the intersection with Lewers Road, 1950s
#84 Looking Diamond Head along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the southwest corner of Lewers Road, 1953
#85 Department store on Kalakaua Avenue in front of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, designed by noted Honolulu architect Pete Wimberly, 1950s
#86 The Watumull Beach Shops along the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Kalakaua Avenue Street front, 1950s
#87 View of storefronts at the Watumull Beach Shops on the makai side of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue between Lewers and Royal Hawaiian, 1952
#88 Late afternoon looking Ewa (more or less northwest here) along the makai side of Kalakaua Avenue in front of McInerny’s towards Lewers in Waikiki, 1956
#89 Watumull Parking Waikiki, 1950s
#90 View along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from between Lewers Road and Royal Hawaiian Avenue, 1950s
#91 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue looking ewa from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s original driveway, 1958
#92 Kalakaua Avenue at Royal Hawaiian Avenue in Waikiki, 1954
#93 View along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel driveway, 1958
#94 Looking west along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from around the Royal Hawaiian Hotel driveway, 1950s
#95 Mauka side of Kalakaua Avenue at Royal Hawaiian Avenue in Waikiki, 1954
#96 Looking west across Kalakaua Avenue towards the Waikiki Medical Building on the corner of Royal Hawaiian Avenue, 1953
#97 Winifred Dick ladies’ clothes and liquor store (now that’s positive reinforcement for the hubbies!) next door to the Waikiki Medical Building on Kalakaua Avenue, 1954.
#98 Nice clear view along Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s
#99 Looking west along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from around where the old Don the Beachcomber’s would have been, 1954
#100 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue looking Diamond Head from just before the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s old driveway at right, 1958
#101 Busy Kakalakaua Avenue looking Diamond Head from the Seaside Avenue intersection, 1959
#102 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue looking Ewa from the Seaside Avenue intersection, 1959
#103 Unusual angle on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue seen from a statehood parade grandstand on the corner with Seaside Avenue, 1959
#104 Makai side of Kalakaua Avenue at the Seaside Avenue intersection, 1958.
#105 Late afternoon light at the McInerny department store building makai side Kalakaua Avenue at Seaside Avenue, 1958
#106 Cruising Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue just past Lewers Street, 1956.
#107 Continuing the Kalakaua Avenue cruise just past Seaside Avenue, a block Diamond Head from the previous photo, 1956
#108 Mauka (inland) view along Waikiki’s Seaside Avenue from the corner of Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s
#109 Looking Diamond Head from the Watumull Shops on Kalakaua Avenue at Lewers Road, 1953
#110 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue seen from the intersection with Royal Hawaiian Avenue, 1955
#111 The Bank of Hawaii Waikiki branch on the corner of Kalakaua and Royal Hawaiian Avenues viewed from in front of the Waikiki Medical building across Royal Hawaiian, 1952
#112 Looking Mauka (inland) along Waikiki’s Saratoga Road from the Kalia Road intersection, 1957
#113 Art deco Waikiki Theater was a Kalakaua Avenue landmark for almost 70 years, 1959.
#114 Waikiki Theatre viewed from Kalakaua Avenue, 1953
#115 The Clark Gable/Lana Turner movie “Betrayed” was playing at the Waikiki Theatre next to the Liberty House Waikiki department store, 1954
#116 Looking Diamond Head at the Mauka side of Kalakaua Avenue across the street from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel (out of frame at right), 1954
#117 The Liberty House Waikiki viewed from across Kalakaua Avenue, 1950
#118 The old Liberty House Waikiki department store on the Mauka (inland) side of Kalakaua Avenue across from the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, 1950s
#119 Liberty House Waikiki, 1950s.
#120 Interior view of Liberty House Waikiki on Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s.
#121 International Market Place in the foreground with Liberty House Waikiki department store to the left and the Waikiki Theatre visible above the roof of Liberty House, 1958
#122 Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue viewed from the makai (ocean) side of the street, 1958
#123 Don the Beachcomber’s restaurant and nightclub on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s
#124 Don the Beachcomber’s restaurant and nightclub on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, between Liberty House department store and the old Moana Bungalows which were across the street from the Moana Hotel, 1952
#125 Don the Beachcomber’s restaurant and nightclub right on Kalakaua Avenue next to the Moana Bungalows and across from the Moana Hotel, 1950s
#126 Pretty ladies in front of the old Don the Beachcomber’s restaurant at the then brand-new International Market Place in Waikiki, 1957
#127 The old International Market Place on the mauka (inland) side Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1958
#128 Waikiki’s International Market Place shortly after it opened viewed from across Kalakaua Avenue, 1958
#129 The International Market Place’s entrance on Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue, 1959
#130 The old International Market Place on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki when it was under construction, 1957
#131 Don the Beachcomber himself, in his banyan tree office at the Waikiki’s International Market Place, 1950s
#132 House of the August Moon Oriental store in Waikiki’s International Market Place, 1958
#133 Tourist shopping at a remarkably uncrowded International Market Place in Waikiki, 1959
#134 Blurry but still interesting view of the mauka entrance to Waikiki’s International Market Place on the Kuhio Avenue parking lot, 1959
#135 Donn Beach’s famous restaurant and nightclub at the International Market Place, 1959.
#136 Street level view of the Bishop National Bank’s Waikiki Branch on Lewers road at Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s
#137 View of the old Bishop Bank Waikiki on Lewers Street, 1950s
#138 Roadside view of the old Bishop Bank Waikiki Branch on Lewers St. makai of Kalakaua Avenue, 1950s.
#139 Bishop National Bank, Waikiki office, on Lewers Road just makai of Kalakaua Avenue, 1957
#140 Looking makai down Lewers Road in Waikiki. The building on the right is the Bishop Bank Waikiki, 1957
#141 Looking makai (seaward) along Lewers Street from Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki, 1958
#142 Looking mauka along Lewers Street towards the Kalakaua Avenue intersection in an uncrowded Waikiki, 1950s
#143 A very rare view of the interior of Stewarts Pharmacy in Waikiki, 1953.
#144 Looking east along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from just west of Lewers Street, 1957.
#145 Looking Diamond Head (more or less east here) along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the corner of Lewers Street, 1952
#146 Hoomalimali Hula Hut and Record Bar, located on the NW corner of Kalakaua and Lewers in Waikiki according to their ad in the Paradise of the Pacific Holiday Annual, 1955.
#147 The vantage point here was the driveway at the low-rise Coconut Grove Hotel on Waikiki’s Lewers Road with the Edgewater Hotel towers in the background, 1953.
#148 The Coconut Grove Hotel’s cottages at 205 Lewers Road (now Lewers Street) just Mauka (inland) of Kalia Road in Waikiki, 1950s
#149 The Waikiki Foto Shop was at 210 Lewers Road (now Lewers Street), 1950s
#150 Unusual view of Waikiki’s Lauula Street, a short, rather grim dead end off the ewa side of Lewers Street just north of Kalakaua Ave, 1955.
#151 Apartment Hotel on the ewa side of Seaside Avenue at Waikolu Way, just makai of Kuhio Avenue, 1950s.
#152 Morning light looking Diamond Head from a second-floor balcony at the 6-floor Islander Hotel on Waikiki’s Kuhio Avenue at Seaside, 1959.
#153 Small apartment building on Kaiolu Street just south of Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki, one block ewa from Lewers Street, 1955
#154 Looking west from the back of the Marjo Apartments on Lewers Street just makai of Kuhio Avenue, towards Kaiolu Street in Waikiki, 1955.
#155 In Waikiki at 235 Saratoga Road, mauka (inland) of Kalia Road and makai (ocean side) of the Breakers Hotel, 1950s
#156 Both wings are now up at the Edgewater Hotel in this view from the corner of Kalia Road (foreground left) and Lewers Road (now Lewers Street, right), 1953
#157 The Lewers Road side of the 1950 makai (seaward) wing of the Edgewater Hotel, 1951.
#158 Street level view of the makai (seaward) wing of the Edgewater Hotel looking Ewa (more or less west here) along Waikiki’s Kalia Road (left) from the intersection with Lewers Road, 1950
#159 Hotelier Roy Kelley’s Edgewater Hotel looking across Kalia Road from the driveway of the Halekulani Hotel, 1958
#160 The Edgewater Hotel on the corner of Beach Walk and Kalia Road in Waikiki, before the second wing went up at the right, 1953
#161 Looking back at Waikiki’s Edgewater Hotel from the pool house, 1951
#162 Looking out on the pool from the ground floor of the Edgewater Hotel, 1951
#163 The Edgewater Hotel was located across Kalia Road from the Edgewater Bungalows (visible far left) looking Ewa (more or less west), 1950s
#164 Ground level view from around the time the first tower opened and before the mauka tower was built, 1951
#165 Both the Makai tower and Mauka towers have been built here, 1950s
#166 The swimming pool at Waikiki’s Edgewater Hotel seen from the second-floor balcony, 1955
#167 Random snap taken at the Edgewater Hotel pool terrace in Waikiki, 1950s
#168 Looking east across the pool deck at the Edgewater Hotel towards the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which can be glimpsed through the palm trees in the background, 1952
#169 The Makai (seaward) wing of Hotelier Roy Kelley’s Edgewater Hotel, viewed from the corner of Waikiki’s Kalia Road at Beachwalk, 1951
#170 The Kalia Road side of Hotelier Roy Kelley’s Edgewater Hotel at the corner of Beachwalk, 1951.
#171 Looking up at the seven floor Edgewater Hotel’s Makai wing on the corner of Waikiki’s Kalia Road and Beachwalk, 1950s
#172 The 1951 and 1953 wings of the Edgewater Hotel viewed from Kalia Road in Waikiki, 1950s
#173 On Beachwalk at Kalia Road in Waikiki, opened in 1951 by Roy Kelley, 1950s
#174 Looking Diamond Head along Waikiki’s Kalia Road from the intersection with Saratoga Road (out of frame at far left), 1957
#175 View is along Kalia Road looking towards Lewers Road with the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in the distance, 1952.
#176 Slightly blurry but still interesting view looking towards the ocean along Waikiki’s Lewers Street, 1952
#177 Slightly blurry view inland along Lewers Road’s modest bungalows, back when Waikiki was still a low-rise paradise, 1952
#178 Looking south from further down the block towards the ocean along Waikiki’s Beachwalk, 1957
#179 A rather underexposed but interesting view looking south towards the ocean along Waikiki’s Beachwalk from the intersection with Helumoa Road when it used to go through from Lewers, 1957
#180 Located at 314 Beach Walk at Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue according to the Travel Supplement of the May issue of Paradise of the Pacific, 1950s
#181 Longtime Waikiki landmark, the Polynesian Hotel on the Makai (ocean) side of Kalakaua Avenue at Beach Walk, 1956
#182 A trio of delightful ladies in front of Grossman Moody Ltd. Jewelers, 1950s.
#183 Kalakaua & Beachwalk Waikiki, 1952.
#184 Super sharp view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue near the Kaiulani Avenue instersection, 1956
#185 The old Benson Smith Drugstore in front of the 10 floor Waikiki Biltmore Hotel finishing up construction on the mauka (inland) side of Kalakaua Avenue at Uluniu Avenue, 1954.
#186 Kalakaua Avenue entrance and storefronts at the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel, 1950s
#187 The Waikiki Biltmore Hotel at the corner of Kalakaua Avenue and Kaiulani Avenue viewed from the Moana Hotel across Kalakaua, 1958
#188 Mauka view from in front of the Surfrider wing of the Moana hotel of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue just diamond head of Kaiulani Avenue, 1956.
#189 Waikiki Biltmore Kalakaua, 1955
#190 Another view across Kalakaua Avenue toward the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel from an upper floor at the Moana Hotel, 1957.
#191 Mauka (inland) side of Kalakaua Avenue between Kaiulani and Uluniu Avenues across from the Waikiki Beach Center, 1950s.
#192 Unusual view from an upper floor at the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel looking Diamond Head when this end of Waikiki was still a low-rise paradise, 1956
#193 Hula by the pool at the then-new Waikiki Biltmore Hotel on Kalakaua Avenue across from where the Duke Kahanamoku Statue is today, 1955
#194 Looking down from an upper floor at the pool court of the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel, 1956
#195 Looking inland from a second story room at the Privateer Hotel on Ohua Street, Waikiki, 1958
#196 The Coco Palms Apartment Hotel, “Hawaii’s most colorful hotel,” on Koa Avenue at Liliuokalani, one block mauka from Kalakaua Avenue and one block east of the Waikiki Biltmore across Uluniu, 1950s
#197 Modernistic apartment building on the mauka side of Koa Avenue, behind the Waikiki Biltmore and later the Hyatt Regency, 1959
#198 The Corals apartment building on the ewa side of Kaiulani Avenue at Tusitala, just makai of Ala Wai in what came to be known as the “Waikiki Jungle”, 1959
#199 On the corner of Kaiulani Avenue and Ala Wai, 1959
#200 Bungalow hotel at 130 Kealohilani Street, mauka of Waikiki Beach between Kalakaua and Kuhio Avenues, 1950s
#201 Room rentals on Kealohilani Avenue, a half block mauka from Kalakaua Avenue in the Kuhio Beach area, 1950s
#202 The Comstock Apartments on Royal Hawaiian Avenue, mauka (inland) of Kalakaua in Waikiki, 1952.
#203 The tropical grounds at this smaller Waikiki hotel on Royal Hawaiian Avenue just mauka (inland) of Kalakaua, 1952
#204 The Waikiki Terrace Apartment Hotel on Royal Hawaiian Avenue, 1950s
#205 Looking Mauka along Waikiki’s Olohana Street from Kalakaua Avenue, 1954
#206 Looking inland along Waikiki’s Royal Hawaiian Avenue from just south of the Kuhio Avenue intersection, 1955.
#207 Royal Beach Apartment Hotel in Waikiki, located at 415 Royal Hawaiian Avenue according to “Travel Guide to the Hawaiian Islands” (1963) by Bob Krauss, 1955
#208 Looking inland from the intersection of Lewers Street and Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki, 1955
#209 Street view of the Privateer Hotel on Ohua Avenue just mauka of Kuhio in the “Waikiki Jungle”, 1958
#210 Entrance to the low-rise Privateer Hotel on Ohua Street in Waikiki, 1958
#211 Listed as one of the new hotels of 1955 in an article on Hawaiian tourism in the holiday annual of Paradise of the Pacific, 1955
#212 At 228 Beach Walk in Waikiki, Mauka of the Edgewater Hotel, 1950s
#213 Looking out at Waikiki from an upper floor at the Hotelier Roy Kelley Islander Hotel on the Diamond Head side of Seaside Avenue, 1955
#214 Looking inland along Waikiki’s picturesque Seaside Avenue, 1956.
#215 Looking south (towards the ocean) along Waikiki’s picturesque Seaside Avenue, 1956.
#216 Looking makai (more or less south here) at Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the corner of Seaside Avenue, 1953
#217 Nice sharp view of the Henry Fong Inn Apartments on the ewa (west) side of Waikiki’s Seaside Avenue one block mauka (inland) of Kalakaua Avenue, 1950
#218 Looking Mauka (inland) along Seaside Avenue from the intersection with Lauula Street, back when Waikiki was still a low-rise residential paradise, 1958
#219 Waikiki Surf at Kuhio & Seaside, 1956.
#220 The courtyard and pool at the Waikiki Surf Hotel, around the time the hotel opened 1956.
#221 One of the rooms at the Hawaiiana Hotel on Beach Walk in Waikiki, makai of Kalakaua Avenue next door to the Breakers Hotel, 1950s
#222 Poolside at the Hawaiiana Hotel on Beach Walk in Waikiki, makai of Kalakaua Avenue next door to the Breakers Hotel, 1950s
#223 Twelve story apartment building on Kaiolu Street and Ala Wai Blvd. in Waikiki, 1956
#224 Diamond Head view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from near the Kaiulani Avenue intersection, 1950s
#225 Diamond Head view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the intersection with Kaiulani Avenue, 1959
#226 Late afternoon Diamond Head view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from in front of the Waikiki Biltmore Hotel, 1956
#227 Kind of a random shot of the shops next to what became Waikiki Beach Center on Kalakaua Avenue near the foot of Uluniu Avenue, 1958
#228 Looking west along Waikiki’s busy Kalakaua Avenue near the Kealohilani intersection, 1953.
#229 View is looking Diamond Head along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from around the Liliuokalani Avenue intersection (out of frame far left), 1958
#230 Looking Diamond Head along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from the Liliuokalani Avenue intersection, 1951
#231 Looking Diamond Head along Kalakaua Avenue towards the intersection with Kapahulu Avenue, 1958
#232 Kalakaua Avenue towards the intersection with Kapahulu Avenue, 1958
#233 Street level snap of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue looking west back when there was still two-way traffic and on-street metered parking, 1956
#234 Late afternoon westerly view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue from Paoakalani Avenue, 1956
#235 The 1901 open-air Saint Augustine’s Catholic Church on the mauka (inland) side of Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue and Ewa (west) side of Ohua Avenue, 1950s
#236 Late afternoon ewa view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue at the Monserrat Avenue intersection, 1956
#237 Late afternoon ewa view along Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue at the Kapahulu Avenue intersection, 1956
#238 Probably an outtake but still interesting (to me anyway), 1958.
#239 The Waikiki Shell under construction in Kapiolani Park, 1955.
#240 Waikiki Shell Hula Show, 1959.
#241 Looks like this photo is from around the opening of the current building, 1950s
#242 The Waikiki Aquarium, on the shoreline of Kapiolani Park next to Diamond Head, 1955
#243 Pretty young lady in pink and black styling beside a pink and black Ford Sunliner convertible in front of the Waikiki Aquarium, 1956
#244 Old Waikiki Elks Mansion, 1950s
Kalakaua Avenue view of Kainalu, the seaside mansion of sugar magnate James B. Castle, built 1899 at the foot of Diamond Head. Became the home of the Waikiki Elks Club 1920 following Castle's death. It was demolished 1959 and replaced with the present Elk's Club building.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful article about Waikiki during the 1950s! I found it fascinating and interesting to read such details about a place I’ve only ever visited in the present day. As the owner of https://meleluau.com/outdoor-party-venues-oahu/ I’m sure its interesting to compare Waikiki then and now and see all the changes that have occurred over the years.