Students seek to restore Honolulu street’s Hawaiian name

HONOLULU (AP) — An effort is underway to change the name of a Honolulu street honoring the state’s first territorial governor to its original Hawaiian name.

Dole Street in the Manoa neighborhood got its name in the 1950s as a way for Hawaii’s territorial government to honor the family of Sanford Dole. But many consider the former governor an enemy of Hawaiian royalty and friend of the elite immigrant community.

“The name Dole perpetuates this legacy of what occurred during the illegal overthrow, the occupation of Hawaii,” said University of Hawaii graduate student Kepoo Keliipaakaua.

The UH Graduate Student Organization is now trying to get the city to restore the street to its original name, Kapaakea, which means coral bedrock or limestone. Keliipaakaua discovered the Hawaiian name on an 1882 survey map of the Manoa area.

The name change has received support from community members as well as the city Department of Land Utilization and the Honolulu police and fire departments.

“We’re going door to door down Dole Street to talk to folks, seeing if they’ll be supportive of the name change. We have to get at least over 50 percent of the residents on board,” GSO President Amy McKee said.

One of those residents, Coline Aiu, said restoring the Kapaakea name would help ensure a part of the area’s history lives on.

“Mango trees are gone. Plum trees are gone. So many things are gone. And I think within the street names you can recall the history. We want a positive history,” Aiu said.

The Manoa Neighborhood Board had drafted a resolution in support of changing Dole Street to Kapaakea Street and will vote on the name change at a February meeting.