Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

Surf site, Waikīkī, Oʻahu. In 1954, Henry J. Kaiser and Fritz Burns purchased 8 acres of Waikīkī beachfront property from the John Ena Estate and several adjoining properties, including the Niumalu Hotel. Their intent was to build the first self-contained visitor resort in Waikīkī. In mid-1955 the first increment of the Kaiser Hawaiian Village Hotel opened for business. Kaiser then dredged a channel, the Kaiser Channel, through the reef to allow access to the beach for commercial catamaran tours. The surf site is on the west margin of the Kaiser Channel. In 1961, Conrad Hilton bought the resort for $21.5 million. It is now called the Hilton Hawaiian Village, but the name Kaiser's for the surf site has not changed.