Fort DeRussy - Honolulu, HI
Posted by: silverquill
N 21° 17.132 W 157° 49.986
4Q E 621048 N 2354196
Fort DeRussy, located in the heart of Honolulu's Waikiki district, was built in 1915 as a coastal defense but was largely dismantled in 1950 becoming a military recreational facility. It now is largely open to the public as an open park.
Waymark Code: WMDT1R
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 02/21/2012
Views: 10
At first glance this hardly appears to be a military installation at all, but it is indeed that, but on the recreational side for military personnel with large sections open to the public from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
There are large expanses of well-maintained green space with open areas, gardens, banyan trees and visiting egrets. the southern edge borders the white sands of Waikiki beach.
Significant features of Fort DeRussy are:
Kuroda Field - honoring Robert Kuroda, Medal of Honor Recipient
Brothers in Valor Memorial - honoring Japanese-American army units of WWII
U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii - the former Battery Randolph
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies - U.S. DOD academic institute opened Sept. 4, 1995
The Fort Chapel
Morale, Welfare and Recreation Center
Hale Koa Hotel - opened in 1975 serving armed forces personnel
Fort DeRussy is located on the site of the former
Afong Villa, and the
Kalia Fishponds. The land was acquired in 1908. In 1911 two batteries were constructed to defend the coastline from invasion - and Battery Randolph. Only the latter remains and now houses the U.S. Army Hawaii Museum. The area of the fishponds was filled in and the fort officially opened in 1915. In 1950 the last of the big guns were removed, which were never used in combat, and the installation became a recreation facility.
The fort was named for General René Edward De Russy (February 22, 1789 – November 23, 1865) who oversaw many of the Atlantic coast defenses. There are four other facilities named Fort Derussy, built during the U.S. Civil War era and some named for his brother, Lewis.