Midcentury Waikiki Architecture

The Waikiki Post Office occupies a small, unassuming structure tucked away from the high-rise hotels. Its most distinct feature is the textured, mid-century masonry block facade that breaks the pattern of modern glass towers nearby. When…

The Breakers Hotel in Waikiki features a low, two-story cluster of bungalow-style buildings arranged around a central courtyard and swimming pool. When it opened in nineteen forty-eight, it offered a quiet alternative to the grand…

The Surfjack Hotel wears its nineteen-sixties roots on its sleeve, identifiable by the crisp, mid-century modern aesthetic and the bold, hand-painted mural at the bottom of its central swimming pool. It occupies a site that once functioned…

The Laylow Waikiki distinguishes itself with a mid-century modern aesthetic that sharply contrasts with the surrounding high-rise glass towers. Originally constructed in the nineteen sixties as the Waikiki Surf Hotel, the building survived…

The White Sands Hotel is marked by its U-shaped, mid-century courtyard, centered around a lagoon-style pool that remains hidden from the busy Waikiki streets. Built in nineteen fifty-seven, the hotel was designed to capture the era's…

The Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel wears a jagged, white geometric facade that zigzags across the skyline. Originally opened in nineteen seventy as the Waikiki Beachcomber, the hotel became the stage for Don Ho, a local musician who…

The Waikiki Circle Hotel stands out because of its shape. It is a perfect, twelve-story cylinder rising directly above the sidewalk on Kalakaua Avenue. When it opened in nineteen sixty-five, this circular design allowed every single guest…

The Queen Kapiʻolani Hotel wears a mid-century silhouette of poured concrete and stacked balconies that rise above the southern edge of Waikīkī. When it opened in nineteen sixty-eight, the tower reached for the skyline, bearing the name of…