Kapiolani Regional Park is the largest and oldest public park in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, located in Honolulu, Hawaii on the east end of Waikīkī

Waikiki

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....

 just beyond Kuhio Beach Park

Kuhio Beach Park

Kūhiō Beach Park is a public ocean-side park on the island of Oahu, U.S. state of Hawaii, located within Waikiki Beach. It's a common gathering place for the Honolulu population and tourists due to its location and semi-protected waters....

 and the Waikiki residential neighborhood. The 300 acres (1.2 km²) park, named after Queen Kapiolani

Queen Kapiolani

Queen Kapiolani formally Esther Kapiolani or Esther Kapiolani Napelakapuokakae, was married to King David Kalākaua and reigned as Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii.-Life:...

, the queen consort of King David Kalākaua

Kalakaua

Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...

, is home to the Waikiki Shell

Waikiki Shell

The Waikiki Shell is a venue for outdoor concerts and other large gatherings in Waikiki area of Honolulu, Hawaii. The Waikiki Shell seats 2,400 persons and the lawn area has capacity for an additional 6,000 persons. It is under the management of the Neal S. Blaisdell Center...

 and the Honolulu Zoo

Honolulu Zoo

The Honolulu Zoo is a zoo located in Queen Kapiolani Park in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. It is the only zoo in the United States to be established by grants made by a sovereign monarch, and is built on part of the royal Queen Kapiolani Park. The Honolulu Zoo now features over 1,230 animals in...

.

History

As swamp land in a desert, the land became a park because it was not suitable for anything else. After horse races were canceled because of muddy tracks in the wet winter of 1876, racing enthusiasts asked King Kalākaua

Kalakaua

Kalākaua, born David Laamea Kamanakapuu Mahinulani Nalaiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua and sometimes called The Merrie Monarch , was the last reigning king of the Kingdom of Hawaii...

 for a permanent, dry course. Since Waikiki

Waikiki

Waikiki is a neighborhood of Honolulu, in the City and County of Honolulu, on the south shore of the island of Oahu, in Hawaii. Waikiki Beach is the shoreline fronting Waikīkī....

 was popular with wealthy racing fans, Kalākaua chose the unoccupied and dry plain at the foot of Diamond Head, Hawaii

Diamond Head

Diamond Head may refer to:* Diamond Head, Hawaii, a volcanic cone on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu known to Hawaiians as Leahi* Diamond Head , a song by the Beach Boys from their 1968 album Friends...

.
On June 11, 1877, the park was dedicated as the first Hawaiian public space. Scotsman Archibald Cleghorn

Archibald Cleghorn

Archibald Scott Cleghorn was a Scottish businessman who married into the royal family of the Kingdom of Hawaii....

 was Vice-president and later president of the Kapiolani Park Association, a group of businessmen, who convinced Kalākaua to give them a 30-year lease for $1 per year. Cleghorn was a Hawaiian citizen married into Hawaiian Royalty. Cleghorn planned the park's landscaping, including the majestic ironwood trees. Money was raised with $50 shares in the association. Shareholders could lease a beachfront lot near the park, and many had cottages there by the 1880s. A lease was granted to the Honolulu Cricket Club in 1893. Top cricket players from San Francisco's California Cricket Association played for local teams. During the 1893 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, most of these became privately owned, and most were later given back to the city or condemned. Baseball replaced horse-racing, lilyponds and bridges replaced the race track.

After the overthrow, the land was conveyed to the Republic of Hawaii

Republic of Hawaii

The Republic of Hawaii was the formal name of the government that controlled Hawaii from 1894 to 1898 when it was run as a republic. The republic period occurred between the administration of the Provisional Government of Hawaii which ended on July 4, 1894 and the adoption of the Newlands...

 and managed by the Honolulu Park Commission. The legislation provided that the park be set aside permanently as a free public park and recreation ground, forbade the sale or lease of land in the park, and prohibited charging of any entrance fees. Since 1913, the park has been maintained by the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Parks & Recreation.

Besides the zoo and the Shell, the park includes tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 courts, soccer, baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

 and rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

 fields and an archery

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

 range. The park hosts many international lacrosse and rugby tournaments a year. Its bandstand serves as an entertainment venue. It is also a popular course for joggers who utilize its two-mile (3 km) circumference. The park also serves as the site, as both the starting and finish lines, of road races in Honolulu including the Honolulu Marathon

Honolulu Marathon

The Honolulu Marathon is one of the world's largest marathons. It takes place annually in Honolulu, Hawaii on the second Sunday in December. - History :...

.

Kapiolani park is also home to Honolulu Cricket Club, the only cricket club

Club cricket

Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal, form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are always observed...

 in the Hawaiian Islands. Founded in 1893, it is the oldest sporting club in the Pacific according to Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

.

As Kapiolani Park continues south it becomes Kapiolani Beach Park, adjacent to Kuhio Beach and Waikiki Beach. The park itself also serves an a natural border between Waikiki and Diamond Head neighborhood. it is located at coordinates 21°16′9"N 157°49′8"W.