Unspecified/General

Standing watch over Honolulu Harbor, the Aloha Tower is a historic lighthouse and landmark that for decades greeted everyone arriving in Hawaii by sea. Completed in 1926 and topped by a great four-faced clock, the slender tower welcomed generations of passengers stepping off ocean liners, its name a warm island greeting spelled out for all to see, and it remains one of the most recognisable structures on the waterfront. For many years the tower was the tallest building in Hawaii, a beacon visible far out to sea that became the symbol of the islands for travellers in the era before commercial flight. In the great days of steamship travel, the arrival of a liner was a celebrated event known as Boat Day, when crowds gathered at the pier amid music, flowers and leis to meet the ships, and the tower presided over these joyful scenes. As air travel overtook the ocean crossings, the tower's role faded, but it has endured as a treasured monument. The surrounding piers were redeveloped into the Aloha Tower Marketplace, a complex of shops and restaurants, and the tower itself remains open, with an observation deck near its top offering wide views over the harbour, the city and the mountains beyond. Its working harbour setting, still busy with cruise ships and cargo, keeps the maritime spirit of the place alive. For visitors the tower offers a free or low-cost climb to its observation level for harbour and skyline views, paired with the dining and shops of the surrounding marketplace. It sits on the downtown Honolulu waterfront within easy reach of the city centre and Chinatown, reachable on foot and by bus, and provides a tangible link to the romantic age of ocean travel to the islands. In the days of Boat Day, the arrival of an ocean liner was a citywide celebration of music, hula and flower leis, and the tower presided over every welcome and farewell. Though jet travel ended that era, the structure endures as a cherished symbol of the islands, its four great clock faces and the word of greeting at its summit a fixed landmark on a harbour still busy with cruise ships and cargo vessels.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 155 Ala Moana Boulevard, Honolulu, United States

Opening Date: 11/09/1926