Everything about Kailua Hawaii totally explained
Kailua is a
census-designated place (CDP) located in the
City & County of Honolulu,
Hawaii,
United States. It lies in the
Koolaupoko District of
Oahu on the
windward coast at Kailua Bay. It is in the judicial district and the
ahupua'a named Ko'olaupoko. It is northeast of Honolulu - over Nu'uanu Pali, the tallest mountain peak in the
Ko'olau mountain range.
In the
Hawaiian language Kailua means "two seas," or "two currents," a contraction of the words kai (meaning sea or sea water) and elua (meaning two); it's so named because of the two
lagoons in the district or the two currents which run through Kailua Bay.
Kailua is primarily a residential community, with a centralized commercial district along Kailua Road. It has a compact, easy-to-shop
business district surrounded by mostly single-family homes. By 1992 50,000 residents encompassed a central urban core with surrounding residential areas.
Places of note in Kailua include Kailua Beach Park (photo at right),
Lanikai Beach,
Kawai Nui Marsh, and
Marine Corps Base Hawaii.
History
Early history
It is possible that Kailua was home to Hawaiian families at least 1,500 years ago. The earliest settlers are thought to have lived, fished, and played on the slopes surrounding Kawainui Marsh. A report on archaeological excavations of the marshland concluded that when the marsh slopes were first occupied about
500 AD, agriculture wasn't possible. Early Hawaiian occupants of Kailua apparently lived beside a
lagoon or bay open to the sea, hundreds of yards shoreside of today's shoreline.
In the
16th century, Kailua attracted the
ali'i. Many legends were born, including the
menehune, who were known for working at night in Kaiwainui Marsh, and mo'o, who took the shape of a large lizard that attracted fish.
Kailua was densely populated before the arrival of
Captain Cook, and was the ancient capital of O'ahu's kings. The biggest event in Kailua and the entire Windward side was in
1795 when
King Kamehameha I conquered O'ahu in his quest to unite the Hawaiian Islands. The King granted Kaiwainui Marsh and old Kailua, which included large freshwater
fish ponds and saltwater ponds at Mokapu, to warriors and chiefs who had helped him. The land was used in various forms for agriculture (for example,
sugarcane, rice, and
taro), and eventually was used primarily for cattle raising. Many ancient temple ruins, including Ulu Po Heiau State Monument, are in the area.
(External Link
)
20th century
Kailua was a small town of barely 3,000 in the
1940s. However, the events of
World War II changed the appearance of Kailua. Kaneohe Ranch sold portions of land to the government for expansion of the Navy base (now
Marine Corps Base Hawaii) and the Army's Fort Hase. Finally, in
1942, Kaneohe Ranch closed down its cattle-raising operations entirely, freeing thousands of acres for post-war development. Harold K.L. Castle, owner of Kaneohe Ranch, donated the land for churches, schools, and a new hospital.
In
1946, a small Liberty House (now Macy's) shop opened with three employees and upgraded to a full-line
department store in 1953, with nearly 50 employees. The first bowling alley, a branch office of the telephone company, and the very first supermarket in Hawaii opened in Kailua in
1947. A new 4-lane highway, tunneling through the Ko'olau Mountains, was completed in the late
1950s. By the end of the
1950s, Hawaii had become a state and Kailua became the official postal designation (previously known as
Lanikai). By
1960 the population was up to 24,400. Castle Hospital (now Castle Medical Center) opened in
1963. Craig's Bakery was also a well recognized bakery that opened in the late 1950's and finally closed soon after the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001.
Beach
Kailua Beach has been repeatedly ranked among the
best beaches worldwide. It was ranked as #1
U.S. beach in
1998 by coastal expert Dr. Stephen Leatherman, and then "retired" from subsequent consideration.
It is a crescent-shaped, about in length and 50-150 feet wide. The ocean bottom fronting the beach slopes gently to overhead depths without any coral heads. Light to medium waves support surfing and body surfing.
The steady
trade winds make Kailua Beach one of the world’s preeminent
windsurfing and
kite boarding destinations. Robbie Naish, regarded by most observers as the windsurfing's greatest champion, grew up at Kailua Beach.
Geography
Kailua is located at (21.397370, -157.739515). Nearby towns include
Kāneohe,
Maunawili, and
Waimānalo.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.5 square miles (24.7 km²). 6.6 square miles (17.2 km²) of it's land and 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²) of it (30.33%) is water. A significant portion of this water area is Kawai Nui Marsh, the largest
wetland in the
Hawaiian Islands and a nominated
Ramsar Convention site.
Lanikai
Lanikai is an
unincorporated community in Kailua on the windward coast at Kailua Bay.
Lanikai Beach was rated as one of the top ten beaches in the world by Sherman's Travel Magazine. It is served by Kailua's zip code 96734.
Demographics
As of the
2000 Census, there were 36,513 people, 12,229 households, and 9,318 families residing in the CDP. The
population density was 5,495.8 people per square mile (2,123.2/km²). There were 12,780 housing units, at an average density of 743.1/km² (1,923.6/sq mi). The racial makeup of the CDP was 43.84%
White, 0.76%
Black or
African American, 0.30%
Native American, 21.11%
Asian, 8.07%
Pacific Islander, 0.93% from
other races, and 24.99% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 6.10% of the population.
There were 12,229 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were
married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98, and the average family size was 3.33.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $72,784, and the median income for a family was $79,118. Males had a median income of $46,789, versus $35,612 for females. The
per capita income for the CDP was $29,299. About 3.3% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 5.3% of those under the age of 18 and 1.5% of those 65 and older.
Education
Public Schools serving Kailua,
Lanikai and
Waimanalo
Private Schools serving Kailua, Lanikai and Waimanalo
St. Anthony School (External Link)
Films
Among movies and TV shows that have been filmed in Kailua are the following:
"Hawaii Five-O" (1968): King of the Hill -- TV Episode
Waikiki (1980) (TV)
"Mädchengeschichten" (1998): Shea - Surfergirl -- TV Episode
Lost (2004-?) -- TV Episodes
Kailua Events
Kailua has various events throughout the year, from block parties to fireworks.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kailua Hawaii'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://kailua__hawaii.totallyexplained.com">Kailua, Hawaii Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
