Salt Lake is a
suburbThe word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an neighborhood of
Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
on the island of
O‘ahuOahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...
. The area is also known as Āliamanu after a nearby
craterVolcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic formations. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption...
, although Salt Lake itself is in a crater called
Ālia pa‘akai — meaning "salt pond" in the
Hawaiian languageThe Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
. The Salt Lake community was developed in the 1960s during a construction boom, providing residents with an expansive view of
downtown HonoluluDowntown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, governmental, and central part of Honolulu—bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor to the south—situated within the larger Honolulu District...
and the
sugarcaneSugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
plantationA plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s of the central plain of O‘ahu. It is a community of high-rise condominiums, mid-rise town-dwellings, and houses snaking around the remnants of a now freshwater
lakeA lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
.
The U.S. Postal Code for Salt Lake is
96818. Salt Lake is a part of the 15th District of the
Hawaii SenateThe Hawaii State Senate is the upper chamber of the Hawaii State Legislature. The senate consists of twenty-five members elected from an equal number of constituent districts across the islands. The senate is led by the President of the Senate, elected from the membership of the body, currently...
, currently represented by State Senator Glenn Wakai and the 31st District of the
Hawaii House of RepresentativesThe Hawaii House of Representatives is the lower house of the Hawaii State Legislature. Accord to Article III, Section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution, amended during the 1978 constitutional convention, the House of Representatives consists of 51 members representing an equal amount of districts...
, currently represented by Linda Ichiyama. It is also a part of Council District VII of the City and County of Honolulu, currently represented by Romy Cachola.
Geography and History
The Salt Lake community is built in the larger and easternmost of three overlapping, low profile, tuff cones or volcanic craters: Makalapa, Āliamanu and Āliapa‘akai. A lake, at one time 1.5 km across (20 ha) but very shallow, formed in the bowl of Āliapa‘akai fed by freshwater springs or possibly seawater seepages (Alexander, 1926 in Maciolek, 1982). Because the lake had no outlet, water loss was largely by evaporation, concentrating salts. Up until 1910, the lake was regularly so salty that salt deposits formed around the shore. In that year, an
artesianAn artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. This causes the water level in a well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached. This type of well is called an artesian well...
well was dug to bring the water level higher (and salt content lower) for use as a
mulletThe mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...
pond; a tunnel, dug through the southeast rim of the crater, controlled water level and provided an outlet (Macdonald, Abbott, and Peterson. 1983). This act and later construction of a larger drainage outlet, eventually removed the salt from Salt Lake.
An
ahupuaa in
ancient HawaiiAncient Hawaii refers to the period of Hawaiian human history preceding the unification of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great in 1810. After being first settled by Polynesian long-distance navigators sometime between AD 300–800, a unique culture developed. Diversified agroforestry and...
was a land division that stretched from a mountain to the sea. The area called Moanalua eventually became the property of the estate of Samuel M. Damon. Before him, it belonged to the
House of KamehamehaThe House of Kamehameha , or the Kamehameha Dynasty, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaii between the unification of the islands by Kamehameha I in 1810 and the death of Kamehameha V in 1872...
. Damon was involved with the
Provisional Government of HawaiiThe Provisional Government of Hawaii abbreviated "P.G." was proclaimed on January 17, 1893 by the 13 member Committee of Safety under the leadership of Sanford B. Dole...
that took power after the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and abdication of Queen Liliuokalani. Damon later became one of the first trustees of the
Kamehameha SchoolsKamehameha Schools , formerly called Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate , is a private co-educational college-preparatory institution that specializes in Native Hawaiian language and cultural education. It is located in Hawaii and operates three campuses: Kapālama , Pukalani , and Keaau...
with his business partner
philanthropistA philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Charles Reed BishopCharles Reed Bishop was a businessman and philanthropist in Hawaii.Born in Glens Falls, New York, he sailed to Hawaii in 1846 at the age of 24, and made his home there. Bishop was one of the first trustees of and a major donor to the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii...
. The Damon estate sold some of the land to commercial and residential developers in 1956. After statehood,
Governor of HawaiiThe Governor of Hawaii is the chief executive of the state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state...
John A. BurnsJohn Anthony Burns served as the second Governor of Hawaii from 1962 to 1974. Born in Fort Assinniboine, Montana, Burns was a resident of Hawaii from 1913....
promoted the development as a modernization project.
In 1966 the lake was filled in except for a pond in the Honolulu Country Club golf course at 21°21′18"N 157°54′28"W.
Roadways
Salt Lake's growth was mainly attributed to the ease (in those days) with which residents could travel to and from
downtown HonoluluDowntown Honolulu is the current historic, economic, governmental, and central part of Honolulu—bounded by Nuuanu Stream to the west, Ward Avenue to the east, Vineyard Boulevard to the north, and Honolulu Harbor to the south—situated within the larger Honolulu District...
and
WaikīkīWaikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
, where many worked. Salt Lake's main street is Salt Lake Boulevard, running the length of the community, from Moanalua High School to
Aloha StadiumAloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
, connecting Puuloa Road (State Route 66) and Kamehameha Highway (State Route 99). Its major arteries are Ala Ilima Street, Ala Lilikoi Street and Ala Napunani Street. Most of Salt Lake's residential streets are named after native flora and fauna. For example, the
‘ilima is the official flower of the
City & County of HonoluluThe City and County of Honolulu is a consolidated city–county located in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The municipality and county includes both the urban district of Honolulu and the rest of the island of Oahu, as well as several minor outlying islands, including all of the Northwestern Hawaiian...
.
Highways and freeways passing close by Salt Lake include the
Queen Lili'uokalani FreewayInterstate H-1 is the busiest Interstate Highway in Hawaii, United States, located on the island of O‘ahu. Despite the number, this is an east–west highway—the 'H'-series numbering reflects the order in which routes were funded and built. H-1 goes from Route 93 in Kapolei to Route 72 in...
(no exits or entrances),
Moanalua FreewayInterstate H-201 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway located on the island of O‘ahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The H-201 is also known as the Moanalua Freeway...
(Exit 2 – Ala Napunani; Exit 3 – Puuloa Road), and Nimitz Highway (State Rte. 92).
Military
Salt Lake is almost surrounded by military installations. Nearby
Fort ShafterFort Shafter is in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawai‘i, extending up the interfluve between Kalihi and Moanalua valleys, as well as onto the coastal plain at Māpunapuna. Fort Shafter is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific Command, the MACOM of U.S. Army forces in...
is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific.
Hickam Air Force BaseHickam Field, re-named Hickam Air Force Base in 1948, was a United States Air Force facility now part of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lt Col Horace Meek Hickam.- History :...
is headquarters of the United States Pacific Air Forces.
Pearl HarborPearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
is headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet.
United States Pacific CommandThe United States Pacific Command is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States armed forces responsible for the Pacific Ocean area. It is led by the Commander, Pacific Command , who is the supreme military authority for the various branches of the Armed Forces of the United States serving...
is to the north of Salt Lake at
Camp H. M. SmithCamp H. M. Smith is a United States Marine Corps installation in the Hawaiian town of Aiea on the island of Oahu, near the community of Halawa Heights...
.
Tripler Army Medical CenterTripler Army Medical Center is the headquarters of the Pacific Regional Medical Command of the armed forces administered by the United States Army in the State of Hawaii. It is the largest military hospital in the Asian and Pacific Rim region and serves a military sphere of jurisdiction that spans...
, visible on the heights to the northeast, is the principal U.S. military medical facility for
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Pacific Basin.
Airport
Although not regarded as part of Salt Lake, the
Honolulu International AirportHonolulu International Airport is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii and is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and rising.It is located in the Honolulu...
is very close, just to the south. The area surrounding the airport is often referred to as the airport district, a commercial and retail region built up along Nimitz Highway. Located there are office buildings, the main
United States Postal ServiceThe United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
center in the state, and Ke'ehi Lagoon.
Community
A 2003 special feature of the
Honolulu Star-BulletinThe Honolulu Star-Bulletin was a daily newspaper based in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the second largest daily newspaper in the state of Hawaii...
classified Salt Lake as affluent upper-middle class with equal distribution of
European AmericanA European American is a citizen or resident of the United States who has origins in any of the original peoples of Europe...
s and second and third generations of
Filipino AmericanFilipino Americans are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipino Americans, often shortened to "Fil-Ams", or "Pinoy",Filipinos in what is now the United States were first documented in the 16th century, with small settlements beginning in the 18th century...
s and
Japanese Americanare American people of Japanese heritage. Japanese Americans have historically been among the three largest Asian American communities, but in recent decades have become the sixth largest group at roughly 1,204,205, including those of mixed-race or mixed-ethnicity...
s.
Korean AmericanKorean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
families have also been making their presence known most recently. There are under 30,000 people living in Salt Lake. Based on surveys compiled by the
University of HawaiiThe University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
, residents are composed of mostly Honolulu professionals and military officers choosing to live off base. The neighborhood community is home to the families of officers and enlisted servicemen from the
Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
,
ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
,
Coast GuardThe United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
and
NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
According to the 2000 report of the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, Salt Lake ranked eighth of all the neighborhood communities in Hawai‘i in terms of median annual household income. It ranked second in median home values, then $ 875,000.
WaikīkīWaikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....
was highest.
Education
Moanalua High SchoolMoanalua High School is a public, co-educational college preparatory high school of the Hawaii State Department of Education and serves grades nine through twelve. Established in 1972 and graduated its first class in 1975, Moanalua High School is located in suburban Salt Lake near Moanalua in the...
was opened in 1972 in the newly developed community. It was dubbed by the
Honolulu AdvertiserThe Honolulu Advertiser was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions...
as the
Private School of Public Schools. This compares it to
Iolani SchoolIolani School, located at 563 Kamoku Street in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a private coeducational college preparatory school serving over 1,800 students. Founded in 1863 by Father William R. Scott, it was the principal school of the former Anglican Church of Hawaii. It was patronized by Kamehameha IV...
and
Punahou SchoolPunahou School, once known as Oahu College, is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school located in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu in the U.S. State of Hawaii...
. Also serving the community are
Radford High SchoolAdmiral Arthur W. Radford High School, known as Radford High School, is a public high school in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, adjacent to the Halawa CDP.-Admiral Arthur W. Radford :...
, Aliamanu Elementary School and Aliamanu Middle School, formerly known as Aliamanu Intermediate School until 1997. Salt Lake Elementary School hugs the slopes of the Aliamanu crater. There are two schools serving the
Roman Catholic Diocese of HonoluluThe Catholic Diocese of Honolulu, officially in Latin Dioecesis Honoluluensis, is an ecclesiastical territory or particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States...
, Holy Family Catholic Academy and the Saint Philomena Early Learning Center at Saint Philomena Church.
Commercial Center
The commercial center of Salt Lake is Salt Lake Shopping Center, bound by Ala Ilima Street, Ala Lilikoi Street and Salt Lake Boulevard. Its anchor tenants are a
SafewaySafeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...
grocery store, a
Longs DrugsLongs Drugs is an American chain of over 40 drug stores throughout the State of Hawaii. Before being acquired by CVS Caremark in 2008, it was a chain of over 500 stores, located primarily on the West Coast of the United States...
store and the only
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
in the region. In the 1980s,
Mayor of HonoluluThe Mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu and considered the third most powerful official in the U.S. state of Hawaii, behind the Governor of Hawaii and the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii...
Frank FasiFrank Francis Fasi was a United States politician having the distinction as the longest serving Mayor of Honolulu in Honolulu, Hawaii. He also served as a territorial senator and member of the Honolulu City Council...
established a mobile satellite city hall at Salt Lake Shopping Center to provide city services for residents without having to travel into City Hall. Salt Lake Shopping Center at one time was home to the Salt Lake Moanalua branch of the
Hawaii State Public Library SystemThe Hawaii State Public Library System is the only statewide public library system in the United States. The flagship Hawaii State Library, built in 1911 and designed by architect Henry D. Whitfield, was funded in part by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It is a historic downtown...
until it moved to the campus of Aliamanu Elementary and Middle Schools.
Parks
Salt Lake is considered a green neighborhood community, endowed with large stretches of park lands. The largest of the parks is Salt Lake District Park renovated in 2003. The park has hiking trails around the slopes of Āliamanu and Āliapa‘akai craters. Salt Lake District Park has playing fields, basketball and tennis courts, multipurpose buildings and a gymnasium operated by the City & County of Honolulu. A 50-meter swimming pool is the newest addition.
Smaller parks in the midst of high-rise condominiums include Salt Lake Municipal Park, which hosts the People's Market each Saturday morning. Established by former Mayor Frank Fasi, the People's Market allows Salt Lake residents to purchase fresh produce and fish from independent local producers. Hoa Aloha Park on Ala Ilima Street is the site of weekend soccer games.
Community events
Salt Lake is home to various public annual events:
- Menehune Classic is held in the fall, opening the competitive marching band season. One of the most important music festivals in Honolulu, various high school marching bands perform at the Moanalua High School football field showing off skill and precision. Moanalua High School is home to one of the preeminent marching bands in the state, having performed throughout the world.
- Winter Craft Fair is held each December as entrepreneurs gather on the campus of Moanalua High School to sell their unique goods and fresh, hot food. A similar craft fair is held each spring.
External links
Sources
- Macdonald, Gordon A., Agatin T. Abbott, and Frank L. Peterson. 1983. Volcanoes in the Sea, 2nd edition. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 517 p.
- Maciolek, J. A. 1983. Lakes and lake-like waters of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Occ. Papers B. P. Bishop Museum, XXV(1): 1-14.