Before the days of the little, higgledy-piggledy Honolulu Town, there was a small Hawaiian settlement at the edge of a natural harbor, ideal for launching canoes for fishing and for cultivating fields adjacent to the Nuuanu Stream. This was Kou, named for the sheltering, orange-blossomed trees. As the settlement grew and visitors came and went, many stayed, and it became known as Honolulu, meaning "protected harbor." Successive waves of immigrants came to this port town, bringing with them new religions, architecture, education, foods, and social mores. The small confines of this town encouraged cross-pollination of peoples and ideas that fostered the unique neighborhoods that give Honolulu its character.
Laura Ruby is the editor of Mō‘ili‘ili–The Life of a Community, the 2008 recipient of the Hawaii Individual Artist Fellowship (the highest honor in the visual arts), and the creator of Site of Passage–Chinatown, a large, commissioned, site-specific sculpture. She has taught art at the University of Hawaii since 1977. Ross W. Stephenson is the historian at the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and he is the keeper of the Hawaii Register of Historic Places. He holds both a doctorate and master's degree in urban planning, focusing on the developmental history of Honolulu.