Salt Lake is a neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of O‘ahu. The area is also known as Āliamanu after a nearby crater, although Salt Lake itself is in a crater called Ālia pa‘akai — meaning "salt pond" in the Hawaiian language. The Salt Lake community was developed in the 1960s during a construction boom, providing residents with an expansive view of downtown Honolulu and the sugarcane plantations of the central plain of O‘ahu. It is a community of high-rise condominiums, mid-rise town-dwellings, and houses snaking around the remnants of a now freshwater lake.
The U.S. Postal Code for Salt Lake is 96818. Salt Lake is a part of the 15th District of the Hawaii Senate, currently represented by State Senator Glenn Wakai and the 32nd District of the Hawaii House of Representatives, currently represented by Linda Ichiyama. It is also a part of Council District VII of the City and County of Honolulu, currently represented by Radiant Cordero.
Geography and history
The Salt Lake community is built in the larger and easternmost of three overlapping, low profile, tuff cones or volcanic craters: Makalapa, Āliamanu and Āliapa‘akai. A lake, at one time 1.5 km across (20 ha) but very shallow, formed in the bowl of Āliapa‘akai fed by freshwater springs or possibly seawater seepages (Alexander, 1926 in Maciolek, 1982). Because the lake had no outlet, water loss was largely by evaporation, concentrating salts. Up until 1910, the lake was regularly so salty that salt deposits formed around the shore. In that year, an artesian well was dug to bring the water level higher (and salt content lower) for use as a mullet fish pond; a tunnel, dug through the southeast rim of the crater, controlled the water level and provided an outlet (Macdonald, Abbott, and Peterson. 1983). This act, and later construction of a larger drainage outlet, eventually removed the salt from Salt Lake.
An ahupuaa in ancient Hawaii was a land division that stretched from a mountain to the sea. The area called Moanalua eventually became the property of the estate of Samuel M. Damon. Before him, it belonged to the House of Kamehameha. Damon was involved with the Provisional Government of Hawaii that took power after the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and abdication of Queen Liliuokalani. Damon later became one of the first trustees of the Kamehameha Schools with his business partner philanthropist Charles Reed Bishop. The Damon estate sold some of the land to commercial and residential developers in 1956. After statehood, Governor of Hawaii John A. Burns promoted the development as a modernization project. In 1966 the lake was filled in except for a pond in the Honolulu Country Club golf course at .
Roadways
Salt Lake's growth was mainly attributed to the ease (in those days) with which residents could travel to and from downtown Honolulu and Waikīkī, where many worked. Salt Lake's main street is Salt Lake Boulevard, running the length of the community, from Moanalua High School to Aloha Stadium, connecting Puuloa Road (State Route 66) and Kamehameha Highway (State Route 99). Its major arteries are Ala Ilima Street, Likini Street, Ala Lilikoi Street and Ala Napunani Street. Most of Salt Lake's residential streets are named after native flora and fauna. For example, the ‘ilima is the official flower of the City & County of Honolulu.
Highways and freeways passing close by Salt Lake include the Queen Lili'uokalani Freeway (no exits or entrances), Moanalua Freeway (Exit 2 – Ala Napunani; Exit 3 – Puuloa
Road), and Nimitz Highway (State Rte. 92).
Military
Salt Lake is almost surrounded by military installations. Nearby Fort Shafter is the headquarters of the United States Army Pacific. Hickam Air Force Base is headquarters of the United States Pacific Air Forces. Pearl Harbor is headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet. United States Pacific Command is to the north of Salt Lake at Camp H. M. Smith. Tripler Army Medical Center, visible on the heights to the northeast, is the principal U.S. military medical facility for Asia and the Pacific Basin. Coast Artillery Battery Tiernon, which mounted 2 X 3" guns, was located at Salt Lake for the protection of Pearl Harbor.
Airport
Although not regarded as part of Salt Lake, the Honolulu International Airport is very close, just to the south. The area surrounding the airport is often referred to as the airport district, a commercial and retail region built up along Nimitz Highway. Located there are office buildings, the main United States Postal Service center in the state, and Ke'ehi Lagoon.