Aloha Tower reopens to visitors
By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Visitor Margaret Roberts was pleased that she was able to add the Aloha Tower observation deck to her sightseeing list yesterday.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
After being closed since the Sept. 11 attacks, the Aloha Tower observation deck reopened to the public for the first time yesterday, along with a new, permanent position for a security guard at the bottom of the tower.
The Aloha Tower observation deck reopened yesterday after the Department of Transportation closed it following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"We came to see the tower the other day when it was still closed and we were bummed," said Roberts, of Lincoln Park, Mich. "But we came back because we knew we could absolutely not miss seeing this view."
The Department of Transportation closed the Honolulu Harbor landmark to the public immediately after the attacks amid concern that it could be a potential target, and the tower remained closed for nearly nine months while officials assessed security issues.
"We are very excited to be open again, and I hope we will be seeing more visitors with the reopening," said Sherry Tanaka, director of marketing for Aloha Tower Marketplace.
The retail businesses around the tower have suffered in the tourism falloff and general economic downturn in Hawai'i that left many of the shopkeepers frustrated.
After Sept. 11, "our business went down almost 20 percent," said Dino Jacob, manager of Gelateria Uno, an ice cream and sweet shop across from the tower.
Trinh Toyofuku, owner of Hawaiian Ware Etc., a small clothes kiosk near the tower, said the closure of the tower affected how visitors spent their money.
"It's not like people come here just to shop," Toyofuku said. "They come here to see the tower, and when they see it's closed, they are disappointed and they do not stay around to shop. When the tower is open, then they are happy and will surely stay longer."
Before it closed, nearly 5,000 people a week visited the 10-story tower. It is the state's second-most recognizable landmark; Diamond Head tops that list.
The observation deck will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, and transportation officials said all hand-carried items will be subject to search by a security guard before visitors enter the elevator at the base of the tower.
"I very much appreciated the fact that the guard checked my bags," said Pat Jacoby, a travel agent from Portland, Ore. "It gave me a sense of security and I felt safe. I had no fear at all."
First opened in 1926, the 184-foot tower is at the opposite end from the entrance to the Honolulu Harbor, and was once the tallest building on O'ahu.
The structure has been closed only three other times: during World War II, when the marketplace was built in the early 1990s and a few years ago for renovation.
During this most recent closure, electricians finished a project that added aesthetic lights to the deck.
Reach Shayna Coleon at 525-8004 or scoleon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
