On the Edge

Nuuanu Stream by the Cultural Plaza

In the '50's and '60's the border of Honolulu's Chinatown was occupied by drunks and bums. (Diffident, therapeutic language would become de rigueur decades later.)

The Chinatown Cultural Plaza, built in 1974, was supposed to be the catalyst for a new Downtown. However, it never attracted the foot traffic that the builders dreamed of, and today the Plaza stores and restaurants are barely keeping it together. (We attended a birthday party there last week.)

The area hasn't gone to seed completely--and it's still much improved from 50 years ago--but a lot of money and time will be needed to make it a tropical River Walk. Chinatown teeters on the edge of growth or decay. In 30 years we'll say the signs were obvious, but today, not so much.