August 1957, two years before Hawaii became a state, my mother took this photo of downtown Honolulu from Punchbowl.
Aloha Tower looks like it was still the tallest building. Hawaii wasn’t a state, so the state capitol building was still quite a few years in the future. The H-1 Freeway was still in the future, but the Mauka Arterial is visible, and later expanded into a full-fledged freeway.
The Queen Liliuokalani Building, located at the corner of Punchbowl and Miller Street, is quite prominent at the center of the photo. The building was finished in 1950, and became home to the Department of Public Instruction and its successor, the State Department of Education.
Click on the photo to see a larger version (for highest resolution, use this link). Then spend some time looking for landmarks, and leave your observations in the comments section below.
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Note the burning cane in Ewa.
The water of Honolulu harbor was so clean that coin divers continued to swim in it. Beautiful photo by your mother. There is so much detail to see in the blow up. Mahalo for sharing.
I enhanced the original with software, Topaz Gigapixel AI. It not only allows you to enlarge a small photo, but it uses its built-in algorithms to bring out details. I’ve started using it for older photos that didn’t have as much original detail.
That brings back a lot of memories. Thanks!
No more reef runway! Not so much cars on King Street and Kapiolani Blvd!