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The Makapu'u Lighthouse
Special thanks goes to Greg K. Kakesako, who wrote the original article for the Honolulu Star Bulletin and to Ken Sakamoto for the wonderful pictures.
As one of Oahu's most familiar landmarks, the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse commands a spectacular view of not only the windward side of the island, but also of Molokai on the horizon.
Built in 1909, the lighthouse - one of 176 lighted sites in Hawaii - has been automated since 1974. Guarded by three locked gates, however, the lighthouse has been off limits to the public since its keepers left the rugged lava cliffs.
But with the help of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 23, limited access to the lighthouse was supposed to have been available by the end of Summer, 1996. Neal McHenry, a flotilla staff officer, said he hopes to host escorted tours to the lighthouse monthly.
A vandal's bullet marred the 12-foot lens.
At a private ceremony in May of 1996, at the lighthouse, the 25-member Hawaii Kai-based flotilla officially "adopted" the Makapu'u landmark. Its construction was prompted by the grounding of the steamer Manchuria in the predawn hours on Aug. 20, 1906 on the reefs off Waimanalo.
The picturesque lighthouse sits alone at the tip of Makapu'u Point.
Located makai of Kalanianaole Highway just before the Makapu'u Point Lookout, the lighthouse still maintains the largest Fresnel lens in use today.
The procedure no longer exists to reproduce the 12-foot-high French Fresnel hyperradiant lens that surrounds the lamplike shutters to magnify and intensify the illumination of a single electrical 1,000-watt, 120-volt light bulb. An identical lamp sits by its side and will automatically rotate into position if the first one burns out.
The lighthouse and about 5,000 square feet around it are still owned by the Coast Guard and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The rest of the surrounding area - about 40 acres including a lookout - belongs to the state and is under the control of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Lighthouse was given to the state with the stipulation that it be used for public recreation.
The spectacular view out over Waimanalo Bay
The state has since is made basic safety improvements such as installing railings at the lookout and fixing some of the barriers. Two large black metal gates block the narrow, twisting one-mile access road from Kalanianaole Highway to the summit of Makapu'u Head. The gates are to prevent vehicles since the road wasn't built to take heavy traffic.
Pedestrian traffic to the lookout is welcomed, however, people are advised to use the road. It's safer than making their own trail from the beach.
Hikers and strollers and even some mountain bikers and motorcyclists can steer around the gates to the gentle incline to the lookout.
There are no comfort stations and no trash receptacles along the access road or at the lookout. No camping is allowed.
None of the three lava-rock and red-roofed homes or the work stations built and maintained by the Coast Guard remain. After the Coast Guard left in 1974, the police used the homes to house key witnesses in the federal tax evasion trials involving Wilford "Nappy" s in 1974. Later, the houses were claimed by Hawaiians who said they held title to the land and occupied it for more than a month in 1987.
The state tore the houses down after the Hawaiian occupation and after vandals destroyed what remained. At one time the Hawaii Maritime Center tried to maintain the area but abandoned the project when it got too expensive.
Members of Flotilla 23 have spent weekends helping the Coast Guard repaint the exterior of the lighthouse, rebuild fencing, and maintain the trail.
The view of the inside of the lighthouse, from the bottom looking up.