Honolulu's Chinatown community is at the vanguard of the precinct's transformation, with that experimental spirit evident everywhere from art incubators to listening bars and farm-to-table eateries. The neighbourhood was established in the 1840s and is one of the oldest Chinatowns in the United States. It stretches for nearly 15 blocks all the way down towards Honolulu Harbour, which was once the port of call for whaling ships. As the whaling industry declined, sugar plantations began to recruit Chinese labourers who settled in and stayed. Some opened bars and brothels. Others, shoebox-sized eateries doling out dim sums. The bad news for architecture buffs is that many of the area's original buildings were destroyed during a fire in 1886. More were then razed around the turn of the century, when the Board…
You're reading a preview of
International Traveller (Digital) - 1 Issue, March - May 2025