Moanalua Gardens, Park in Honolulu, Hawaii, US
Moanalua Gardens is a 24-acre (97,000 m2) privately owned public park in Honolulu, Hawaii, just off Interstate H-201 in the Moanalua district near Tripler Army Medical Center. At its western end stands the Kamehameha V Cottage, a single-story white building with a dark brown shingled roof, a main front gable and a smaller gable over the centered entrance, two small square windows high on the front gable, and a covered porch on white posts with light blue trim; symmetrical wings extend left and right, and a light blue band runs along the fascia under the eaves. The cottage's three separate units—kitchen and dining room, living room/bedroom, and entertainment room—are linked by roofed porches.
The land was once part of the estate of the Kamehameha royal family, and Prince Lot Kapuaiwa, who later ruled as King Kamehameha V, used the grounds as a retreat. The cottage still standing on the property dates from that era and is one of the few surviving traces of that chapter in Hawaiian history.
The most visited spot in the park is a large monkeypod tree with a wide, umbrella-shaped canopy, known locally as the Hitachi Tree. The Japanese electronics company Hitachi has used its image in advertising for decades and pays an annual fee for the right to do so.
The park lies just off Interstate H-201 in the Moanalua district, near Tripler Army Medical Center, at 21°20′52″N 157°53′33″W. The Kamehameha V Cottage stands at the western end of the grounds, and the Hitachi tree grows in the middle of a grassy area at the centre of the park. The grounds are privately owned but open to the public.
Every July, the grounds host the Prince Lot Hula Festival, the largest non-competitive hula event in Hawaii, where groups perform traditional Hawaiian dance without being judged or ranked. The absence of competition gives the event a tone that sets it apart from most other hula gatherings across the islands.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,697 contributors worldwide.