Hilo is the largest town on the Big Island of Hawaii and has one of the most robust downtown's in the state with many imposing historic buildings. Outside of Honolulu, I saw nothing that compared to Hilo's architecture on Oahu, Maui, or the Big Island.

 

My apologies for these dreary, near dusk pictures...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice.  A few years ago we spent about six days on Maui and just 2.5 on the big island, based out of Hilo.  Really wish we had balanced that better - I very much liked the old-Hawaii feel of Hilo, and the rainforest on the northeast end of the island.

Great tour.

Nice pics! It looks like Hilo once rivaled Honolulu - I'm guessing Hilo sprung up after Pearl Harbor was established?

I drove through Hilo a few years ago. I was vacationing on the NW side of the Big Island (Waikoloa area) and my group decided to drive over to Volcano National Park, which is near Hilo on the other side of the island.  It's fascinating to drive across the big island, as you get to go through so many ecosystems and climates.  The NW side looks lunar almost- basically all volcanic rock with no vegetation anywhere except right on the coast.  Once you get up into the mountain areas, it's very green, though mostly grasslands and farms/ranches.  Then when you get close to Hilo, there is lush rainforest and waterfalls everywhere you look.  Hilo looked a little rundown, I thought, but I would like to check it out more to see what it's really like.  I believe there was a big tsunami that hit Hilo at some point in the 1900s, which I'm sure stunted growth of the area a bit.  Also, there are very active volcanos very close to the city, though lava flows haven't really threatened it recently, I think.  It's definitely a wild, rugged place-- very cool! Thanks for the photo tour!

Hilo looked a little rundown, I thought, but I would like to check it out more to see what it's really like.

 

Yes, there is some grit to Hilo, but mostly downtown. Some of it could be cleaned up, but I also found it a little refreshing in contrast to some of the nicer resort/touristy areas. There is a hostel downtown and a decent crowd of surfer/Bohemian types just hanging around.

Puka Puka Kitchen?  Shata Building?

 

Noticed some people wearing sweatshirts too....

Looks like an awesome town! Thanks for sharing. I worked in Honolulu once and loved it, but this looks much more old school.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Cool place but when I visited it seemed like it was a bit anti-Hawaii from a weather standpoint. The rainforest is nice but I enjoyed Kona (where I stayed...Waikaloa to be exact) much more. 125 inches of rain and 180 cloudy days could get old, IMHO.

 

I took the helicopter tour over to the Pu'u O'o crater and then followed a tube with skylights out to where the lava is spilling into the ocean and creates a constant large white plume. Incredible!

 

EDIT: I should dog out the old prints (yes, it's been a few years) and post them!

Nice job.

 

I visited Hawaii in the late 90s for a week-long conference but, unfortunately, never left Maui.  I'd like to make it back out there... It's gorgeous; a true tropical paradise, but just so friggin' far away -- a full day of flying (oh the airplane claustrophobia!)... and, yet, it's still the United States.

 

It's quite amazing to me that there are these highly urban environments on this group of small islands waaaaaaayyy deep in the South Pacific, distant from practically everywhere.  Many people don't appreciate  how old, established and urbanized Hilo and Honolulu actually are, with Honolulu actually building a 20-mile, driver-less heavy rail rapid transit system including a stop, of course, at Pearl Harbor.