The Ala Moana Center , commonly known simply as Ala Moana , is a large open-air shopping mall in the Ala Moana neighborhood of Honolulu , Hawaii . Owned by Brookfield Properties , Ala Moana is the eighth largest shopping mall in the United States and the largest open-air shopping center in the world.
28-596: Vintage Cave Club (formerly known as Vintage Cave Honolulu) is a private club with a restaurant featuring a "French-Japonais" menu in the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu , Hawaii . The restaurant contains a collection of artwork that includes a lithograph series by Pablo Picasso . The restaurant is currently open to the public, but offers a private membership program that entitles access to vintage wines & access to its various facilities. The Vintage Cave Club
56-927: A bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley and began his career as a bond trader . He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II , serving in an amphibious unit . He received two Bronze Star Medals for service at two major battles in the Philippines: the Battle of Leyte and the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf . He was in Tokyo during the Surrender of Japan . Graham settled permanently in Hawaii after World War II. He
84-591: A potential failure. However, the Ala Moana Center proved a success after its opening, and helped refocus the retail center of Oahu away from Downtown Honolulu . Graham worked as the center's first general manager after its opening. When it opened in 1959, Ala Moana Center became the largest shopping mall in the United States. Brookfield Properties of Chicago currently owns and operates Ala Moana Center. Although later retail developments across
112-680: A tomb, a wine-tasting dispenser that displaces air with argon gas to protect open bottles of wine, and an art collection that includes an 18-piece series of original Picassos. The art is culled from Sekiguchi’s private collection..." The Vintage Cave Club also has a members-only bar. The restaurant seats up to 50 people and is located in the Ala Moana Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. In 2014, owner Takeshi Sekiguchi began considering global expansion, scouting locations in Beverly Hills , Las Vegas , New York City , London , Frankfurt and Dubai . In
140-550: Is consistently ranked among the most successful malls in the world. With assets totaling $ 5.74 billion as of January 2018, it is the most valuable shopping mall in the United States . It is anchored by Bloomingdale's , Macy's , Marshalls , Neiman Marcus , Nordstrom , Ross Dress for Less , Saks Off 5th , and Target . Before the construction of the mall, the land was a wetland. Dredging projects nearby spearheaded by Walter F. Dillingham created excess coral which filled
168-532: Is valued at nearly $ 6 billion and is the largest outdoor mall in the world. Ala Moana Centerstage, a stage in the center of the shopping complex, is one of the most popular public amphitheaters in Hawaiʻi. Local talents are showcased on the stage for visitors to enjoy. Hula dances are a staple for Ala Moana Centerstage as well as performances by the Royal Hawaiian Band , the oldest municipal band in
196-686: The 1961 addition of the Ala Moana Office Building (including La Ronde , the first revolving restaurant in the United States), and the 1966 addition of JCPenney and Liberty House in a new Diamond Head wing. In 1982, Ala Moana Center was purchased by a partnership of Japanese corporation, Daiei , and an insurance company. In 1995, Daiei became the sole owner. Once a management vendor for Daiei, General Growth Properties purchased Ala Moana Center in 1999 after Daiei filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy . The Makai Market food court
224-552: The Ala Moana Sears location was the largest portion of the deal, comprising between $ 200 million to $ 250 million of the overall sale price. The Ala Moana location closed permanently at 7 PM on June 2, 2013. On May 17, 2013, the owner of Ala Moana Center announced that Bloomingdale's would anchor and occupy 167,000 sq ft (15,500 m ) of a new and expanded 650,000 sq ft (60,000 m ) Ewa wing. The expanded wing opened on November 12, 2015, replacing
252-1122: The Coconut Beach Hotel in Kauai , the Maui Marriott Resort in Kaanapali , the Wailupe Peninsula subdivision in East Honolulu and the Discovery Bay condominium in Waikiki. He also partnered to develop the Liliha Square Shopping Center, which was sold in the late 1990s to Finance Factors. During his later career, he also focused on the creation of affordable housing projects and developments. Graham remained active in GMR LLC until two weeks before his death in 2010. He
280-629: The February/March 2018 edition of Hawaii Luxury Magazine it was announced that these expansions were already underway and are expected to be completed before 2020. In 2017, Sekiguchi appointed Chef Hide Yamamoto as Head Director of Vintage Cave Club and Café. Chef Yamamoto was the first Executive Chef to serve at the Presidential inauguration ceremony of three U.S. Presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton. He also served for various official banquets and parties organized by
308-434: The United States. Schools throughout the world travel to Honolulu just to perform at Ala Moana Centerstage. In addition, episodes of the local TV show Hawaii Stars , a singing competition, are usually filmed on the stage; onlookers can usually be seen crowding the second- and third-story balconies overlooking the stage during taping. Don Graham (developer) Donald Houston Graham Jr. (June 14, 1914 – August 17, 2010)
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#1732780415313336-487: The Vintage Cave Club was converted into another Ala Moana Center food court called "The Lanai." Following the opening of the new Shirokiya Japan Village Walk, a more casual, sister restaurant of the Vintage Cave Club opened nearby called Vintage Cave Café. 21°17′28″N 157°50′44″W / 21.291172°N 157.845499°W / 21.291172; -157.845499 Ala Moana Center Ala Moana
364-427: The design of the center has been criticized for its overbuilt appearance and hodgepodge architecture, the result of years of modifications and expansions under different owners. Still, Ala Moana Center architecture and layouts inspired its owner in 2004 to invest over US$ 1 billion in remodeling various other shopping centers across Canada and the United States, using Ala Moana Center as a template. As of 2018, Ala Moana
392-468: The existing wing on the western end of the mall, including the space previously occupied by Sears. The new wing included Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom, which relocated from the north end of the mall, as anchors. On October 22, 2017, Target held its grand opening for its first store at a mall in Hawaii in the space formerly occupied by Nordstrom. Costing US$ 25 million in 1959, Ala Moana Center had 87 stores and 4,000 parking spaces when it opened that year. It
420-672: The first lady, gaining popularity in the political world in America. He earned the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo the world's first "Six Stars" by the American Academy of Hospitality Science. In 2010, he has also been awarded the "Global Chef Award" from the World Gourmet Summit - an annual epicurean festival that showcases intricate craftsmanship of prestigious chefs. On June 25, 2016, Shirokiya opened
448-474: The highest occupancy rates, at 95%. The report described the flourishing mall as a gold mine, with annual sales of more than $ 1 billion. On February 23, 2012, Sears Holdings Corporation announced it would close its store at Ala Moana Center by early 2013. Sears held its original location and had a presence at the mall since its opening in 1959. The closing was part of a $ 270 million sale of 11 Sears properties nationwide. The Wall Street Journal estimated that
476-555: The mall away from the Pacific Ocean . Graham, the Ala Moana Center's chief designer, also designed the building with two levels for retail stores and parking, an unusual layout in the 1950s. After the mall's completion, he became its first general manager . Graham's project was a huge success, with major implications for shoppers in Honolulu and beyond. The Center shifted the focus of retail in Oahu from downtown Honolulu to
504-415: The nation have overshadowed it over the years, Brookfield markets and lists Ala Moana Center as the world's largest open-air mall with a total retail space of 2,270,186 sq ft (210,907.2 m ). Its original tenants included Sears, Roebuck and Company , F. W. Woolworth Company , Foodland , Longs Drugs , and Shirokiya , among other local shops. Ala Moana Center's second-phase expansion included
532-533: The new Shirokiya Japan Village Walk, offering customers a unique experience showcasing a traditional Japanese town reminiscent of old Kyoto. Highlighting traditional Japanese culture, the new Shirokiya Japan Village Walk consists of four main themes: Yataimura (quality food court & beer garden featuring $ 1 beers), Zeppin Plaza (shopping alleys), Omatsuri Hiroba (festival and event square) and Guardian Spirits Sanctuary (good luck deities). The former Shirokiya space above
560-651: The new mall. It has been expanded since its opening to become the largest mall in the United States for decades. Today, it is one of the three highest-grossing malls in the United States and the largest outdoor shopping mall in the country. Graham remained at the Dillingham Corp for more than 27 years before leaving and creating new development firms with other business partners . The firms included Mainline Associates, Graham Wong Hastings and Graham Murata Russell, now known as GMR LLC. Graham designed and developed numerous other projects throughout Hawaii, including
588-489: The wetland, purchased by Dillingham in 1912 from the estate of Bernice Pauahi Bishop . Land reclaimed, son and successor Lowell Dillingham initiated the Ala Moana Center project in 1948 and broke ground in 1957. The Ala Moana Center was developed and designed by Don Graham . Critics viewed Graham's unusual design, which oriented the mall away from the Pacific Ocean and included two levels for retail and parking, as
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#1732780415313616-399: Was admitted to Straub Medical Center on August 15, 2010, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and leukemia . He died on August 17, 2010, in Honolulu at the age of 96. He was survived by his wife, Kathryn Graham; his son, D.H. “Mac” Graham III; his daughter, Pattiann Smith; stepdaughter, Sara P. Hewitt; stepson, Breck Perkins; and five grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and a brother and
644-541: Was an American real estate developer and businessman credited with transforming the urban landscape of Hawaii by building condos , resorts , hotel , residences and shopping centers . He developed and constructed the Ala Moana Center in Ala Moana , which opened in 1959 and remains the largest outdoor shopping mall in the United States . Graham was born on June 14, 1914, in Oakland, California . He received
672-454: Was best known as the developer and contractor of the Ala Moana Center, which opened in 1959. It was constructed on what was originally swamp land. It was filled by coral rock from a dredging project initiated by Walter F. Dillingham. Dillingham's son, Lowell Dillingham, announced the project in 1948 and broke ground in 1957. Critics at the time regarded the shopping center as a potential failure due to its layout and design, which oriented
700-578: Was built in 1987. A 1999 expansion added the Makai wing, with Neiman Marcus as a new anchor. A shopping complex and parking spaces were demolished just north of the mall in 2006 to make way for the Mauka wing, which was completed on March 7, 2008, and was anchored by Nordstrom . In a June 26, 2009, report from U.S. News & World Report , Ala Moana was ranked as the second most profitable mall in America based on sales per square footage, and also had one of
728-523: Was hired in late 1945 by Dillingham Corp, founded by Walter F. Dillingham . Graham soon became the president Hawaiian Land Corp, a Dillingham subsidiary . Graham developed and completed a series of major projects throughout Honolulu for Dilligham, including the Ala Moana Hotel and the Ala Moana office building (including " La Ronde ", first revolving restaurant in the United States). He
756-416: Was listed on Zagat in 2014 as one of the twelve hottest restaurants in Hawaii, and listed by Zagat again in 2016 as one of the ten hottest restaurants in Hawaii. President Barack Obama and his family have been seen dining at the restaurant, as have other celebrities and public figures. According to Honolulu Magazine , the restaurant contains "150,000 imported, custom bricks that line the restaurant like
784-547: Was remodeled extensively in various phases. New designs reflected modern Hawaiian architectural principles , emphasizing the importance of the symbolism of various natural phenomena found in Hawaiʻi. Asian Pacific Rim motifs have been adopted reflecting the large Asian population of residents in Hawaiʻi. For examples, for decades a centerpiece of Ala Moana Center was its koi ponds; in the Japanese culture , koi represent happiness and tranquility. Despite these enhancements,
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