You’ve heard the phrase, “You know you’re old when…”
Well, I must be edging into that suggested age bracket.
It all started the other day when I saw an ad on TV for some one-day sale at Macy’s and it reminded me of the old Zooper sales at Liberty House.
It’s hard to believe it’s been only 12 years since Federated Department Stores Inc. bought Hawaii’s oldest and largest department store chain. (It seems like way longer.) Liberty House left such an indelible mark on the minds of local consumers, it’s not a surprise that many of us still refer to Macy’s as the bought-out chain.
But that’s not the only no-longer-around landmark that I often make references to.
There’s Gems — which is now where the City Square Building is in Kalihi — and Chun Hoon Market at the corner of Nuuanu Avenue and School Street. There’s King’s Bakery on King Street — now Pint + Jigger — and Arakawa’s in Waipahu. (I blame my mom, though, for still using the names of these old businesses.)
But I also make references to places that don’t exist in that location anymore such as Taco Bell on King Street (now Hinone Mizunone) and Pizza Hut on Waialae, which is now Fresh Catch.
It’s interesting to think how much has changed in Hawaii — and how much we hold onto the past.
Anyone else still calling Macy’s Liberty House?
17 Comments
Some changes are OK some are not. Liberty House was an island institution and so it was a big shock when it became Macy’s. The toughest for me to handle were the ones to Ala Moana. I remember the grocery store in the mall roughly where the food court is now. It was way more open air back them. Yes, this was 1980s time frame but when i returned in 1994 and it wasn’t there I was unhappy about it. it was charming to get rained on walking around the place. Now it is mostly closed up and too upscale for me. I for one do not like having two Kalapawai Markets in Kailua. The one by the beach parking lot was enough for me. The new one is a distraction, maybe it closed after I left in 2009. As far as stuff just plain leaving… I miss Krung Thai. There was a Wendy’s downtown. They were upset about the rent and left. But the real disappointment for me was driving to the North Shore and seeing grassland instead of pineapples. Frankly I was heartbroken over that one. Time changes things for good and bad. Oahu is not the same without the pineapples.
CAT: Here’s some – Holiday Mart=Daiei=Don Quixote; Kau Kau Korner=Coco’s=Hard Rock=?; Honolulu Stadium=Stadium Park; Dairymen’s=Meadow Gold; Wo Fat=?; Kresses=KMart; Gibsons=Toyota; and any of hundreds of K-Bars on/around Keeaumoku.
Hello Cat!
I still call it Liberty House.
Hey Cat,
Thought I was reading Rodney Lee’s blog (lol)!
LOL!
ha, ha, ha. NOT so much “Liberty House” but as I called it “L H” Simple.
it’s worse if you moved to the continent. no day to day frame of reference, so Liberty House it is.
Yes! Still refer to it at Liberty House. And in addition to the Zooper Sale, there was the Safari Sale and the… and the… (damn old age setting in) White Sale?
And the hotel names. I still call them The Hawaiian Regent or The Kahala Hilton and tourist don’t know what I’m talking about.
*Thanks for the plug, eddyo 😉
CAT: Speaking of your Mom, does she call all the names of the family when she addresses you in a hurry?
Hey Cat … haha, I definitely fall into the “you know you’re old” group … but there are still older folks who know what existed even before me …
… I think if the new thing that replaces the old landmark establishes a pretty good reputation on its own (maybe even as good or better … then the quicker we’d stop referring to the old landmark … It’s not that we’d forget about the old landmark, but we quickly identify the new one that exists today …
… I call it Macy’s because I like Macy’s and it was always a well established business … but I vividly remember Liberty House … Sports Authority on Ward is Sports Authority, but I remember Gems was there … the City Square is still Gems in my mind because nothing has definitively replaced it yet …
… I suppose when Sears in Ala Moana is gone … I’d still refer to it as Sears for a while … hard to imagine that side without Sears …
… and one of my older friends always tells me he’s going to McKinley Motors for a car wash … and I’m like “where?” … he never says McKinley Car Wash … that’s the name I know …
This is why I probably would get totally lost if I went back to Honolulu. “Go to [x]!” “Huh?” “Go to [specific address]!” “Oh, you mean [y]!” “Brah, [y] closed like 15 years ago…” I can’t imagine Ala Moana without Liberty House and Sears as being compass points. It happens here (Portland, OR) too… Macy’s bought out a longtime local department store, Meyer and Frank. To this day I still call it Meyer and Frank, because… That’s what it IS, right? At least when the Kroger conglomerate bought Fred Meyer they had the sense to keep the Fred Meyer name… Chaos and confusion would result if they’d changed THAT.
Yep I still call it Liberty House…And I still call Donquijote, or rather Daiei…nope…I still call it Holiday Mart from time to time…can’t help it. haha
I miss those Liberty House’s sales. I forget which one but it was timed with going back to school. I think I still have Liberty House’s gift boxes. They were made better than the current Macy’s and I love the hibiscus design.
i actually call macy’s, macy’s. i worked at liberty house for almost 15 years and macy’s is just not the same. for those of you remembering those liberty house sales, they had safari sale in march and zooper sale in july. later, they added rainbow sale in october. there were also back to school sales and clearances, as well as after thanksgiving and after christmas sales. and, initially, we only had one “one day sale” a year! not like every month for a couple of days! lol.
i still call don quixote, daiei. but i used to call daiei, holiday mart. go figure. lol. and, like rod, i call the marriot, the hawaiian regent! i can never remember that it’s a marriot! and as for the taco bell and king’s bakery references, i usually use those names when i give directions… “you know the old taco bell on king street?”
I feel a bit nostalgic when I wear a very nice wool scarf I bought in my 20s (cold here). The scarf, which I still get compliments on, has the label of a store that Macy*s purchased not long after that, and the label also says “Made in West Germany.”
I agree with the Cat on Macy’s (Liberty House); Circuit City became Bed Bath and Beyond; Computer City became CompUSA – which later closed down, just like Byron’s Drive In (nar the airport across from a Starbucks, L and L Drive Inn airport shopping center complex) and Sears are gonna do this year. Don Quijote (Daiei, Holiday Mart). Even though there is one Times’ Supermarkets in Kalihi (i still will call it Star Market from time to time); CVS Pharmacy (what the heck is that ?) = I still will call it Long’s Drugs. I always thought that Long’s Drugs was a locally owned company, like KTA Superstores (on the Big Island), Marukai or Foodland, but later found out that the U.S. mainland owned that franchise. Bummers ! I miss Pay N’ Save and Gibson’s Shopping Center (with Jumbo’s). Now, it’s a Foodland and Gibson had turned into a Servco Mapunapuna Toyota car dealership. No more shave ice and El Pollo Loco. There was a music center (which I had piano lessons and met local comic legend Frank De Lima for the first time). Too bad 99 Ranch Market had closed down and Bob’s Big Boy still needs to be renovated..
Whoa, what a flashback! Love it!