As America’s youngest state, Hawaii has undergone monumental changes since the late 1800s, including the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, the islands’ admittance as an American state, and the development of Hawaii as a tourism destination. From buildings that have remained the same throughout the last fifty years and those that have been replaced by other establishments, to areas that have seen almost explosive development in the last century, these 13 then and now photographs of Hawaii sure are fascinating to check out.
- Honolulu as photographed from Diamond Head in the 1970s.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
And Honolulu from the same spot now - it’s crazy how much development has occurred!
Marvin Chandra/Flickr
- This aerial shot of Ford Island was taken in the 1930s, when anyone who needed access to the island had to take a ferry.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Now, Ford Island is a bustling neighborhood for military families, as well as the Pacific Aviation Museum and the USS Battleship Missouri. Plus, the island is now accessible via a 4,600-foot bridge.
Pacific Aviation Museum/Flickr
- The original Hale Ali’I, home to King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, on the site that is now home to the Iolani Palace.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
On this very site is the Iolani Palace, the only royal palace on United States soil.
Ron Cogswell/Flickr
- H-1 as photographed in the 1970s.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
A lot has changed for Oahu’s major freeway in the last several decades.
Daniel Ramirez/Flickr
- A panoramic view of the Haleiwa Hotel, circa 1902. This luxury resort was built a year before Waikiki built its first grand hotel.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
The Haleiwa Hotel closed in 1943, and was torn down in 1953. Now the popular restaurant Haleiwa Joe’s sits in its place.
Jack/Flickr
- This ethereal photograph was taken at Lahaina’s Mala Wharf in the mid-1930s.
Alan Light/Flickr
The once popular wharf now sits abandoned.
Ron Cogswell/Flickr
- The Queen’s hospital, as photographed in 1905.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Imagine what our healthcare would be like if we were still living in the early 1900s.
Adam Theo/Flickr
- Housing on Schofield Barracks, as photographed in the mid-1920s.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
And here’s Schofield’s modern day housing.
AFN Pacific Hawaii News Bureau/Flickr
- Photographed below is Kamehameha V’s summer home at Helumoa, also known as The Royal Grove.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
The same site today is home to the Royal Hawaiian Center.
Andy/Flickr
- The Hawaii State Capitol as photographed in the mid-1970s.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
It seems as though the only thing that has changed at the capitol are the political opinions.
Daniel Ramirez/Flickr
- A fire burns in Honolulu’s Chinatown in 1900. The fire was set to destroy homes suspected of being infected by the bubonic plague.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Luckily, modern Chinatown is a bustling neighborhood no longer threatened by the plague.
Jasperdo/Flickr
- Waikiki Beach and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in December 1969.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
I am so glad that this iconic Waikiki resort has changed very little since the 1960s.
Wally Gobetz/Flickr
- United States Navy Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, circa 1963.
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
It’s interesting to see how much established places like Pearl Harbor have changed in the last decades.
D Coetzee/Flickr
What do you think of these Hawaii photo comparisons? Do you recognize many of the old photographs?
Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons
Marvin Chandra/Flickr
Pacific Aviation Museum/Flickr
Ron Cogswell/Flickr
Daniel Ramirez/Flickr
Jack/Flickr
Alan Light/Flickr
Adam Theo/Flickr
AFN Pacific Hawaii News Bureau/Flickr
Andy/Flickr
Jasperdo/Flickr
Wally Gobetz/Flickr
D Coetzee/Flickr
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