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Honolulu's first streetrail system was powered
by sedate, aromatic mules. This famous
photo, seen here in color for the first time,
has Hans Mortensen at the reins. Mortensen
was an unusual character who...
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The first electric streetcar system in Honolulu
was a small stand-alone operation created
by real estate developer Charles S. Desky
in 1900. It served to lure home buyers
to his development at Pacific Heights in...
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A small electric streetcar whizzes along
O'ahu Avenue in Manoa Valley, with
Diamond Head in the background. Manoa
was one of the neighborhoods originally
created by the arrival of the rapid transit...
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The O'ahu Railway Station, which still
stands, connected much of the rest of
rural O'ahu to the streetcars of Honolulu.
There are tales of high school students like
Simon Nasario of Ewa Beach spending...
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An early photo of car #1 rattling along
King Street in Honolulu's historic downtown.
This was long before the installation of
traffic lights, and a police officer
directs traffic. According to former...
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This image is a mystery, as historians
and archivists do not agree on its location.
Guesses range from along Nu'uanu Avenue,
by Ft. Shafter, in Waikiki and along
Beretania Street where the original Sears...
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It's Steamer Day in Honolulu, a festive
occasion where citizens flocked to the
harborfront, along with streetcars and
buggies for hire. The Royal Hawaiian
Band (background, in uniform) played...
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With a newly rebuilt Chinatown in the
background, a "barrel car" rumbles across
a streetcar-only bridge connecting Hotel
street on the two sides of Nu'uanu Stream.
Built in Massachusetts, barrel cars...
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In the mid-1930's. Honolulu Rapid Transit's
traditional "maroon and straw" color scheme
was replaced by a burnt orange hue. For
some reason, perhaps the increased
visibility of the unexpected color...
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If you've been to Waikiki recently--say
the past 40 years--this image is astonishing!
Opened in 1901, the stately Moana Hotel
here is just a few years old, and what we
know as Kalakaua Avenue is an unpaved...
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Honolulu's conductors and motormen were a
proud lot, famous for their helpfulness and
courtesy. Phillip Abdul, whose portrait
appears above, was a longtime HRT
employee. Visible in the background is...
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A transition! Work crews use a revolutionary
machine created by HRT's Ed deHarne to rip
track from the road quickly while in the
background, a snazzy new Brill electric
trolley bus glides by quietly on rubber...
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Visitors often remark on the absence of
billboards in Hawai'i. This was not always
the case, as this photo of the corner of
King & McCully illustrates. A huge anti-
billboard campaign was launched in 1912...
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In the Spring of 1901, the new carbarn of the
HRT&L Company was almost ready. The first
streetcar run would be on August 31, 1901.
Notice the early trailer car behind the two
workers in the center of the image.
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