Kapiolani Park

Queen Kapiolani Regional Park is the largest and second oldest public park in Hawaii, located in Honolulu, Hawaii on the east end of Waikīkī just beyond Kuhio Beach Park and the Waikiki residential neighborhood. The 300acre park, named after Queen Kapiolani, the queen consort of King David Kalākaua, is home to the Waikiki Shell and the Honolulu Zoo.HistoryPrior to being used as a public space, the area was a mix of swamp land and arid plain unsuitable for building. In the 1870s, Kalākaua was charged to find a permanent, dry course for horse racing. Since Waikiki was popular with wealthy racing fans, Kalākaua chose the unoccupied and dry plain at the foot of Diamond Head where the park now stands. On June 11, 1877, the park was dedicated as the first Hawaiian public space. Scotsman Archibald Scott Cleghorn was Vice-president and later president of the Kapiolani Park Association, a group of businessmen, who convinced Kalākaua to give them a 30-year lease for $1 per year. Cleghorn was a Hawaiian citizen married into Hawaiian Royalty. Cleghorn planned the park's landscaping, including the majestic ironwood trees. Money was raised with $50 shares in the association. Shareholders could lease a beachfront lot near the park, and many had cottages there by the 1880s. A lease was granted to the Honolulu Cricket Club in 1893. Top cricket players from San Francisco's California Cricket Association played for local teams. During the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, most of these became privately owned, and most were later given back to the city or condemned. Now the park consists of open green space, lilyponds, the Honolulu Zoo and the Waikiki Shell entertainment venue.