Ward Neighborhood

What’s in a name?

The Hawai‘ian name Kaka‘ako has several possible interpretations. In Hawai‘ian, the word “kaka‘ako” means “slow” or “dull,” fitting for the modest homes and quiet lifestyle of early Kaka‘ako residents. The root words “kaka” and “ako” mean to thresh or beat thatch. In the early 1800s, abundant bulrushes in the area were used to make thatch.

Another possible theory derives from the root words “kaka‘a,” meaning “to revolve” and “ko,” meaning “to fulfill” or “come to pass.” Perhaps this interpretation is most prophetic, as the area is now being transformed into Ward Neighborhood, a vibrant commercial and residential community.

King Kamehameha I
In the early 1800s, much of Kaka‘ako was swampland. Although it did not have the intensive agriculture of other nearby ahupua‘a with streams and fresh water, Kaka‘ako had fishponds and produced salt under the rule of King Kamehameha I.

A Place of Recreation
The shoreline of Kaka‘ako, also known as Kewalo according to archaeological reports, was a place of fishing, canoe landings, cleansing and religious practices. As commercial and residential uses started to replace Kaka‘ako’s fish and salt ponds, the mud flats and marshes were filled. In the 1880s, the shoreline was extended by huge public works projects that reclaimed land from low-lying coastal areas.

The Estate of Victoria Ward
The Ward Neighborhood Master Plan area is part of an estate created over a century ago by Victoria Ward and her husband, Curtis Perry Ward. Today, the Blaisdell Concert Hall marks the site of their former home at the “Old Plantation,” a holding of over 100 acres that spanned from Thomas Square to the waterfront.

A Working Class Neighborhood
Until the 1950s, Kaka‘ako was an eclectic and diverse neighborhood, with homes above shops, churches, schools and parks. In the 1950s, the area was rezoned to industrial. Ward Properties developed a series of low-rise shopping centers in the 1970s. In May 2002, the Ward Properties were acquired by General Growth Properties, which also owns Ala Moana Center to the east.