Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

[adrian]

I have conflicting reports on where the best buy place will be located. On a address locator I used online, it said that it'll be in the Sam's club/Home Depot/future Walmart area (Pearl City) but reports here say it'll be at the old Tony Honda site (in Aiea). To make it confusing, when I called Best Buy to confirm my job application, they asked me if I applied for either the "Honolulu store" or "Pearl City store".

Is it just me, or they're just mixing up the location, or they can't say "aiea"?

[pzarquon]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

Dividing lines between communities are a tricky business, and hotly disputed. But are you asking where Pearl City and Aiea adjoin, or where Pearl City and Waimalu join? At least as far as the feds and demographers are concerned, I think Waimalu and Aiea are separate neighborhoods.

Aiea is a very narrow area (pop. 10,000), bordered on the west by Kalauao Stream (Honomanu St. being the last major intersection on Kamehameha Highway), and on the east by Aiea Stream (Laulima St. at Kamehameha, Kaulainahee Pl. off Aiea Hts. Dr.). Kaamilo St. and Aiea Hts. Dr. are basically the 'spines' of the town.

Waimalu (pop. 29,000) picks up at Kalauao Stream (Pali Momi St. at Kamehameha Hwy.) and reaches west to basically where it goes under H-1 (just past Honomanu St.). Kaahumanu St., Kaahele St., and Kaonohi St. (where I used to live!) are its primary 'spines.'

Pearl City (pop. 30,000) is next over. It runs basically to where H-1 and H-2 split, and actually makes a three-way point with the edges of Waipio and Waipahu. Not surprisingly, Waimano Home Road is its main 'spine.'

Check out Census Block Maps and the city's archive of CDP maps.

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

But... what about Newtown? And Waiau?

[pzarquon]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

They're both in Pearl City, aren't they? Call Rep. Mark Takai, House District 34, which includes Newtown, Waiau, Pearl City, and Waimalu. or Sen. David Ige, Senate District 16.

[scrivener]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

Uh-uh. Aiea the neighborhood DOES seem to end at about Kaonohi Street, where Waimalu begins. But the dividing line between Aiea and Pearl City the addresses is Kaahumanu Street. Newtown, Royal Summit, and Hillside Terrace have 96701 ZIP codes. Everything on the fire-station side of Kaahumanu has a Pearl City ZIP code (that means Waiau).

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

Royal Summit..I will never forget this area as it was the subject of one of Scrivener's trivia questions in the contest he ran not too long ago. Questions was: In what (Oah'u) town is Royal Summit found...I guessed PC; the answer was Aiea...I will never get that wrong again if anyone ever asks me!

[pzarquon]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

Uh-uh. Aiea the neighborhood DOES seem to end at about Kaonohi Street, where Waimalu begins.

Well, I couldn't picture where Newtown is in my mind, so I guessed on that one.

As far as where dividing lines are, I used "Census Defined Places," which are relatively small units (smaller than districts, larger than blocks, and relatively straightforward). I wouldn't use ZIP codes, because one can span several neighborhoods. By ZIP code, I used to live in Manoa, not Makiki! Don't tell anyone in Manoa that Keeaumoku St. is part of Manoa. Heh.

But the dividing line between Aiea and Pearl City the addresses is Kaahumanu Street.

I suppose, by "addresses" or ZIP codes. By that model, Waimalu is part of Aiea. By CDP, Kaahumanu isn't a dividing line, it's in the middle of Waimalu (or within west Aiea).

Frankly, there probably aren't any universal rules, because the people who live in these neighborhoods can sometimes not agree on where the borders are. Ask people who live within a couple of blocks of Kapahulu Ave. - from Waikiki to Waialae Ave. - on either side what neighborhood they're in. You'll probably get fifty different answers.

I used to live on the oft-cited Kaonohi Street, which we (and I bet everyone) calls Aiea (or Pearlridge!), but technically it's just west of Aiea and part of Waimalu. Frankly, though, like you said, mentally/socially, a lot of people just use Kaonohi St. as a border/line, so that could be just as good a "rule" as any. Government defined borders can be pretty arbitrary, after all, or made irrelevant over time as a town changes...

[scrivener]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

I wouldn't use ZIP codes, because one can span several neighborhoods. By ZIP code, I used to live in Manoa, not Makiki! Don't tell anyone in Manoa that Keeaumoku St. is part of Manoa. Heh.

Right. That's why I made the distinction between Aiea the ADDRESS and Aiea the NEIGHBORHOOD. Aiea people don't consider Royal Summit to be part of Aiea at all, and I always considered it to be in Pearl City for every purpose I could think of EXCEPT for the purpose of addressing my envelopes. Hey, if the Aiea bus doesn't drive you closest to your house, I say you don't live in Aiea. I had to take the Pearl City bus to get to Royal Summit when I was in high school. On the other hand, Pearl City people don't consider Royal Summit to be Pearl City.

Really, Pearl City and Aiea aren't even neighborhoods; it's why I insist on going by ZIP codes in answering that question. That area across Kaahumanu near the fire station is Waiau, but the area across Kaahumanu where Times Supermarket is is Waimalu. The powerplant, just a few hundred yards down, is called the Waiau Powerstation. The next neighborhood going Ewa is probably Momilani, up to Waimano Home Road. Beyond that is Manana and then Palisades. I guess depending on how you define "neighborhood," Pearl City is just the name of a town, not a neighborhood.

[Linkmeister]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

To confuse the issue further, the shopping center with Safeway and Office Depot below Tesoro's gas station at Kaahumanu and Moanalua (the Diamond Head side) is called Waimalu Shopping Plaza.

Mom and I have had the Waiau discussion for years, with never a definitive answer to be found.

[adrian]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

ROTFL!! Looks like I lit off a big firecracker this time!!

I always thought Pearl City ended at the H1 overpass, then Waimalu starts from there, ending at Blaisdell park area, then Aiea starts at the Cutter Ford area on.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

Here's a few more geographical tidbits: Pearlridge Mall is actually in Aiea and Kahala beach is actually called Waialae Beach Park, so if that's the case then where does Kahala actually reside in if Waialae extends from the shore to the Koolau's (Waialae Nui Valley, Waialae Iki Ridge, and Waialae Iki 4 Ridge). The golf course is the Waialae Country club and Kahala Mall was previously known as the Waialae Shopping center. Waialae Elementary School sits above Waialae Baptist church which is technically in Kaimuki. Go figure that one!

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

...and how come Mō'ili'ili Mochi & Candies is located in Liliha?

[scrivener]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

...and why is Mililani Mortuary on Kukui Street downtown?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

The award winner though is the Waimanalo Gulch landfill. I remember when that came online, everybody in Nanakuli was shocked to see it in their neighborhood.

Apparently they thought Waimanalo Gulch was in...Waimanalu. I guess they never knew what the hell the name of the gulch in their backyard was named...that is until all these dump trucks started filling up that hole.

And of course the venerable Kaimuki Typewriter whose last known location (to me) was in McCully across from Zippy's.

[jdub]

Re: Where does Pearl City and Waimalu start/end?

There was also a North Shore Grill featured on KHNL's Cheap Eats recently. It's located on Waialae Ave.