Honolulu Waterfront Walking tour Getting There: From Waikiki, take Ala Moana Boulevard in the Ewa direction. When Ala Moana ends, turn left on Nimitz Highway. Park on the ocean side of Nimitz at Bishop Street. TheBus: 19 or 20. Start: Aloha Tower, ocean end of Fort Street Mall at Pier 9. Finish: Waterfront Plaza and Restaurant Row, Punchbowl Street/Ala Moana Boulevard. Time: About 1 to 2 hours, depending on how long you linger in museums and shops. Best Time: Daylight, when the Hawaii Maritime Museum is open (8:30am-5pm daily). For a look into Honolulu's past when Polynesians first came to Hawaii, take this stroll along the waterfront and the surrounding environs. Until about 1800, the area around Honolulu Harbor (from Nuuanu Ave. to Alakea St., and from Hotel St. to the ocean) was known as Koa. Some scholars say it was named after a dedicated officer to Chief Kakuhihewa of Oahu; others say it comes from the koa tree, which flourishes in this area. In 1793, Captain William Brown, on the British frigate Butterworth, sailed the first foreign ship into Honolulu harbor. Like most British explorers, he didn't bother to ask about the name of the harbor; instead, he just called it Fair Haven. Other ships that followed started to call the harbor "Brown's Harbor." Luckily, the name the Hawaiians gave the harbor, Honolulu, which translates into "sheltered bay," became the popular name. The waterfront area played a vital role in the history of Honolulu. King Kamehameha I moved his royal court here in 1809 to keep an eye on the burgeoning trade from the numerous ships that were coming here. The royal residence was at the makai end of Bethel Street, just 1 block from the start of our tour at the Aloha Tower. Park in the parking lot on Bishop Street and Nimitz Highway and walk over to Pier 9 to: 1. Aloha Tower One of the reasons that the word aloha is synonymous with Hawaii is because of the Aloha Tower. Built in 1926 (for the then-outrageous sum of $160,000), this 184-foot, 10-story tower (until 1959, the tallest structure in Hawaii) has clocks on all four of its sides, with the word aloha under each clock. Aloha, which has come to mean both "hello" and "farewell," was the first thing steamship passengers saw when they entered Honolulu Harbor. In the days when tourists arrived by steamer, "boat days" were very big occasions. The Royal Hawaiian band would be on hand to play, crowds would gather, flower leis were freely given, and Honolulu came to a standstill to greet the visitors. Go up the elevator inside the Aloha Tower to the 10th-floor observation deck for a bird's-eye view that encompasses Diamond Head and Waikiki, the downtown and Chinatown areas, and the harbor coastline to the airport. On the ocean side you can see the harbor mouth, Sand Island, the Honolulu reef runway, and the Pearl Harbor entrance channel. No charge to see the view; the Aloha Tower is open daily 9am to 5pm. Next to the tower is the: 2. Aloha Tower Marketplace In the early 1990s, city officials came up with the idea to renovate and restore the waterfront with shops, restaurants, and bars to bring back the feeling of "boat days." The shops, restaurants, and bars inside the two-story Aloha Tower Marketplace offer an array of cuisines, one-of-a-kind shops, and even a microbrewery. Most shops open at 9am daily and the restaurants and bars don't shut down until the wee hours of the morning. From the Aloha Tower Marketplace, walk in the Diamond Head direction along the waterfront to Pier 7, where you'll find the: 3. Hawaii Maritime Center As we went to press, the Hawaii Maritime Center was a victim of the economy and had temporarily closed. Be sure to call (tel. 808/536-6373 ) to see if it has reopened by the time you arrive here. The center is composed of three entities: the museum, which is in the Kalakaua Boathouse; the Falls of Clyde, the four- masted ship moored next door; and the Hokulea, the 60-foot Polynesian sailing canoe, also moored at Pier 7. Moored next door to the Boathouse is the: 4. Falls of Clyde The world's only remaining fully rigged, four-masted ship is on display as a National Historic Landmark. Still afloat, the 266-foot, iron-hulled ship was built in 1878 in Glasgow, Scotland. Matson Navigation bought the ship in 1899 to carry sugar and passengers between Hilo and San Francisco. When that became economically unfeasible, in 1906 the boat was converted into a sail-driven oil tanker. After 1920, it was dismantled and became a floating oil depot for fishing boats in Alaska. She was headed for the scrap pile when a group of Hawaiian residents raised the money to bring her back to Hawaii in 1963. Since then she has been totally restored, and now visitors can wander across her decks and through the cargo area below. After viewing the Falls of Clyde, wander over to the: 5. Hokulea If you're lucky, the 60-foot Polynesian canoe will be docked, but it's often out on jaunts. In 1976, this reproduction of the traditional double-hulled sailing canoe proved to the world that the Polynesians could have made the 6,000-mile round-trip from Tahiti to Hawaii, navigating only by the stars and the wave patterns. Living on an open deck (9 ft. wide by 40 ft. long), the crew of a dozen, along with a traditional navigator from an island in the Northern Pacific, made the successful voyage. Since then there has been a renaissance in the Pacific among native islanders to relearn this art of navigation. Next door, at Pier 6, you'll find the: 6. Navatek I From ancient Polynesian sailing canoes to today's high-tech boats, Navatek I is the latest specimen in naval engineering. The 140-foot-long vessel isn't even called a boat; it's actually a SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) vessel. That means the ship's superstructure -- the part you ride on -- rests on twin torpedolike hulls that cut through the water so you don't bob like a cork. It's the smoothest ride in town and guarantees you will not get seasick or spill your mai tai. From Pier 6, walk down Ala Moana Boulevard and turn mauka at Punchbowl, where you'll come to: 7. Waterfront Plaza & Restaurant Row Eateries serving an array of cuisines (from gourmet Hawaii regional cuisine to burgers), shops, and theaters fill this block-long complex. This is a great place to stop for lunch or dinner, or for a cool drink at the end of your walk.