Haiku Stairs: A look back at its history and forward into its future
The Haiku Stairs, also known as Stairway to Heaven, is an iconic hike that leads those who dare to climb its nearly 4,000 stairs into one of the highest peaks of the Koolau Mountains. However, it has been shrouded in controversy and is currently slated to be demolished.
History of the stairs
Wooden stairs were originally built after Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941 in order to ascend the Koolau Mountains, where a radio station was built.
“The stairs were built right after Pearl Harbor, when the Navy suddenly realized that they had this war in the Pacific that they were not prepared for and needed a way to communicate across the biggest ocean on the planet,” said Sean Pager, who is the president of the Friends of Haiku Stairs, an organization that is fighting against the removal of the stairs. “They didn’t have a transmitter powerful enough to send radio signals that far, so they decided they needed to build something.”
Pager told Spectrum News the radio station was placed on a ridge above Haiku Valley because it is naturally shaped like a giant satellite dish.
“The shape of the valley itself is an even amphitheater, which allowed them to build this super transmitter that was powerful enough to a submarine anchored in Tokyo Bay,” said Pager.
