From Kapiolani Park: a history

 

The Origins of Kapiolani Park, 1876-1896

* 1876 - Kapiolani Park Association is formed by a corporation interested mainly in an exclusive residential retreat. The Association acquired the property through leases from King Kalakaua & Allen Herbert. The King leased three hundred acres of Crown land for $1 per year. James Makee was president, and was succeeded by Archibald Scott Cleghorn.

 

The Turn-of-the-Century Park, 1896-1913

* 1896 - Under Act 53 of the Legislature of the Republic of Hawaii, management passed to a new organization called the Honolulu Park Commission, a public agency comprised of six trustees, who were charged by legislative mandate to operate the Park as public recreation ground for Honolulu's citizens. Act 53 provided that the park was to be "permanently set apart as a free public park and recreation ground forever." The commission had significant restrictions on its authority - one important clause withheld the authority to lease or sell land in the park; another key restriction stated that the commission could not demand an entrance fee.

* Under the terms of Act 53, the lands of the park were conveyed by trust deed to the Republic of Hawaii.

 

The Beginning of Municipal Management 1913

* 1913 - The Park was placed under the jurisdiction of the City & County of Honolulu, which continues to operate the Park today.

 

Permission to reproduce this page is not granted. With the exception of the King Kalakaua photo, all of the above is copyright protected as part of Kapiolani Park: a history, Kapiolani Park Preservation Society, 2002. All rights reserved; text copyright 2002 Robert Wyeneth.