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Aloha Tower

by ALOHA DEAN

Aloha Tower was built to a height of 10 stories - 184 feet, 2 inches, topped by a 40-foot flag staff and completed in September of 1926 and Since travel to the Islands was done then entirely by sea, the building was intended to create a lasting impression. For four decades it was the tallest building not only in Downtown Honolulu, but also all of Hawaii. Spreading from its base were the docks, warehouses, passenger-handling and other facilities of Piers 8,9,10 and 11, the core of Honolulu Harbor's commercial activity. In the 1920s and '30s, "Boat Day," the arrival of a passenger ship, became a festive celebration shared by the whole community.