Our Town: Bishop Street

Although it’s now the nexus of Honolulu’s business district, Bishop Street is a relatively recent addition to downtown. For most of the 19th century, the land that would become Bishop Street was occupied by Dr. John S. McGrew’s estate, and the estate of Charles Reed Bishop and his wife, Bernice Pauahi Bishop.

The corner of Bishop and King streets, circa 1923. The Alexander Young Hotel would be replaced in the early 1980s by the American Savings Bank Tower, Pauahi Tower and Tamarind Park. photos: Bishop Museum

The Bishop house stood where the Cades Schutte building does today, facing Diamond Head. It was torn down in 1900 to make way for Bishop Street.

In 1900, the houses were demolished for an unpaved, one-block street that bore the Bishops’ name. The Alexander Young Hotel came up soon after, in July 1903, but it wasn’t until 1918 that the city paved Bishop Street and extended it to the harbor.

Today, the Cades Schutte building (home to HONOLULU Magazine), at the corner of Bishop and King streets, stands where the old Bishop house once did. The Alexander Young Hotel has been replaced by the American Savings Bank Tower, Pauahi Tower and Tamarind Park.