What You Can Do
Tell us why Lāna‘i City holds special meaning for you in the comments box below.
11 Most Endangered
Lāna‘i City
Year Listed: 2009
Location: Lāna‘i City , Hawaii
Current Status: Endangered
Threat: Development
See the Pictures
Lāna'i City
Lāna'i City
Lāna'i City
Lāna'i
A view looking towards Hulopo‘e Beach and Pu‘upehe, about 12 miles upland from Lāna'i City.
Lāna'i
Palawai Basin looking towards Lana'i Hale, a watershed and mountain spine.
Significance
One of Hawai'i's eight main islands, Lāna'i, known as the "Pineapple Isle," has tropical beaches, breathtaking natural beauty, lavish resorts and one attraction none of the other islands can claim: an intact plantation town. Located between Moloka'i and Maui, Lāna'i is the smallest of the main Hawaiian Islands, with 2,500 year-round residents living in and near Lāna'i City, the center of the island. The island rose to prominence with the arrival of James Drummond Dole, whose pineapple empire once stretched over 20,000 acres and employed thousands of workers. In the 1920s, Dole, who owned the entire island, created a thriving company town, complete with hundreds of plantation-style homes, a laundromat, jail, courthouse and police station, all centered around a tree-lined park named in his honor.
The least visited of the main Hawaiian Islands, Lāna‘i has remained secluded, and the company town of Lāna‘i City looks very much as it did in its 1920s heyday. There are no traffic lights, no malls, no public transportation and less than 30 miles of paved road on the 141 square mile island.
Updates
Today, Lāna'i is almost entirely owned by Castle & Cooke, one of the largest private landowners in Hawai'i. The company, which also owns Dole Foods and two high-end Four Seasons resorts on Lāna'i, recently submitted a three-part plan calling for the demolition or alteration of 15-20 historic buildings in Lāna'i City to make way for large-scale commercial development.
Currently, the two-block area that makes up Lāna'i City's historic downtown is largely intact, but that may soon change as Castle & Cooke has already submitted demolition applications to Maui County's Department of Planning. Permit applications have been filed for the demolition of three residential structures, the police lieutenant's house, the Lāna'i City jail, the laundromat and other historic commercial structures.
The new development proposal includes an oversized, out-of-scale grocery store, dramatically incompatible with the historic downtown. The grocery store’s parking lot alone would consume an entire city block. Local preservationists hope to convince Castle & Cooke that a preserved Lāna‘i City is a draw for heritage tourists and is, therefore, an economically viable solution.
Site videos produced by Polivision Productions.
Share your memories of this endangered place
Submitted by landscapearchitect at: February 1, 2010
Don't tear down the past!! The proposed re-development would irreversibly destroy important cultural heritage; it can never be replaced. Ever. Lana'i should be Lana'i, not a carbon-copy of Anytown, USA. I love Hawai'i, but it belongs to Hawai'ians, not some corporation.
Submitted by lovehawaii at: January 21, 2010
Leave Lanai alone. If you do not believe it can be damaged beyond repair go to Honolulu or Maui. They cannot fill the hotel rooms that are built already.
Submitted by returntonatives at: December 30, 2009
I think it's time that "stolen" land be returned to the rightful owners. Dole Foods doesn't really own the property. The land was stolen from Hawai'ians. USA needs to return the land back and/or Dole needs to pay those who live there. It's ridiculous that Castle & Crooks "own" the island.
Submitted by Millster at: December 18, 2009
I just visited Lanai City this past spring. The charm of the island is how undeveloped it is. The city is charming and should stay as is. It would ruin the feel lf this beautiful island.
Submitted by Lanai Girl at: December 17, 2009
I grew up on Lana'i and it will always be home for me. Living now on the East Coast, I treasure it more than ever. I remember when we got new PAVED roads and didn't have to drive in pot holes anymore! For those of you who know the island, I lived up in "haole camp", and boy was that a nice ride down to the city on my bike! Lana'i is a true gem, and I'm so proud and LUCKY to have grown up there.
Submitted by Lunas14 at: December 17, 2009
Now and forever Lanai will be where I am from. I take pride in its simplicity and solitude. I take pride in being able to say that everything there is run locally. I have friends who only have memories of seeing that jail and having to go to our small grocery stores where they couldn't find everything they wanted. To them that is Lanai, simple yet satisfying.
Submitted by angels808 at: December 17, 2009
Born and raised a part of my life on the beautiful Island of Lanai...It's my place away from home to relax from the rest of the world around me. I still have family there. Even if I don't visit as often as I should, it's always a place where I feel safe...Seeing all the familiar faces and reminiscing of growing up there...The smell of the pine trees that makes the air so fresh and clean...It's the best place to be...People ask me what it is like there...and I always have to say...it's something different from what you see around you...it's something so precious and something to experience...no matter who it is or the place to visit...you'll meet the most friendliest people who will wave and smile at you as you drive on the streets...Lanai IS home sweet home...
Submitted by Paxman at: September 5, 2009
From Maui or Oahu, you can see Lanai and Molokai beckoning. That's what islands do best. In 1965, when I was 14, my family answered the call. We lived in Honolulu at the time and my dad bought a little 21 foot sailboat with a tiny cabin. Due to scheduling problems, I had to fly to Lanai the day after Dad and two siblings started the passage. The plane was a DC-3 and almost made pineapple juice, the runway was so short! The intrepid sailors had met bad weather and would not arrive till the next morning. I had no money, no place to spend the night. Somehow, this came to the attention of the only law officer around. He took me to the only place that served food and treated me to the best bowl of noodles I have ever had. He let me spend the night in the empty jail. The next morning he drove me to the harbor to meet my soaked but not discouraged family. We were even given several pineapples to enjoy over the next week as we sailed our way to the other islands and back to Oahu. As long as I am alive, the memory is preserved. I would hope that the place is also saved as much as possible as it was. My "night in jail" was so perfect, I have refused to stay in any other. Aloha nui.
Submitted by JoJo at: August 23, 2009
My husband and I honeymooned here. It was spectacular, and so different from our life in Manhattan, NYC. What world-class resorts - yet so private and secluded. It was also the best Chruch experience we have had! Don't demolish what is there - just promote it! Get more tourists.
Submitted by BCE at: August 21, 2009
I grew up going to Hawaii starting in the early 1970's. It wasn't until a few years ago that I had the incredible pleasure of seeing Lanai. It is one of the few places left that is the "real" Hawaii and it should be protected as such. Whenever anyone asks me about Hawaii, I always encourage them to take a boat trip over to L'anai to see what old Hawaii was all about. Please don't turn this into another huge resort... there are plenty of those on the Islands already! Mahalo