WWII Red Light Tour

WWII Red Light Tour WWII Red Light District Tour. In this historical walking tour you will spend 90 minutes exploring debauchery, drunkenness, and corruption in Old Hawaii.
(13)

Join us for a raucous ride through Honolulu's scandalous past. In 90 minutes, we'll share with you tales of the "boogie houses," where sailors would go to experience the comforts of the oldest profession. We'll wander down Chinatown's historic Hotel Street Bar District, where revelers even today come for the cheapest, strongest drinks in town. And we'll show you Old Ironside Tattoo, where Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins crafted his iconic art. With Honolulu Exposed Walking Tours, you'll discover a whole other side of Hawaii! Over 18 recommended. (All photos on this page are either taken by visitors of the tour or are in the public domain. Please feel free to share them - we think they're pretty awesome)

Operating as usual

Wo Fat matchbook! Hawai`i 5-0 named their villain after this restaurant. It was opened in 1882 when King Kalakaua reigne...
01/13/2020

Wo Fat matchbook! Hawai`i 5-0 named their villain after this restaurant. It was opened in 1882 when King Kalakaua reigned. It stayed open for 100 years.

I got this matchbook just in time to wish you all a Happy New Year from your Commanding Officer!
12/28/2019

I got this matchbook just in time to wish you all a Happy New Year from your Commanding Officer!

This matchbook is for a boogie house that was in Honolulu's WWII red light district. I don't know much about this establ...
12/08/2019

This matchbook is for a boogie house that was in Honolulu's WWII red light district. I don't know much about this establishment but it was in the building pictured below. Perhaps the colors of the building inspired the colors in the matchbook. The blue is very dark but the red still pops 80 years later!

This match book's business has a story behind it. It was a brothel on the boundary of Honolulu's WWII red-light district...
12/06/2019

This match book's business has a story behind it. It was a brothel on the boundary of Honolulu's WWII red-light district. The women working here were not allowed on the other side of the street! At least the white women weren't; Honolulu was worried about social quarantine and tried to keep the white prostitutes as separate from polite society as possible (they also weren't allowed at golf courses).

Anyway, a man named Ted Chernin wrote a great article about his time in Honolulu during WWII. He spent two years visiting his favorite gal, Bobbie, at the Cottage. She was said to be soft spoken and liked him back. He says he always regretted not saying goodbye to her when he left.

In case you were wondering, Ted Chernin made about $2,000 a year as a junior radion engineer for the US Navy. As a prostitute Bobbie would've made over $20,000 a year. Sorry for the long tangents!

EDIT: Ok, so, I just confirmed that Lauren Bruner's girlfriend worked out of here too! He worked Shore Patrol, if one of the prostitutes was having trouble with a client she could press a buzzer and summon Shore Patrol. That's how Lauren met June, his first girlfriend.

Lauren Bruner was on the USS ARIZONA, December 7th, 1943. The way he survived is incredible, he ended up going hand over hand on a rope from the sinking USS to the USS VESTAL. Someone had thrown that rope to him from the other ship. He was the the last man to leave the ARIZONA and live.

He passed away in September. Tomorrow at sunset navy divers will place his ashes alongside his fallen crew mates in the Arizona memorial. Sorry for the tangent. I met him and was very fond of him. We really feel his loss here in Chinatown, Honolulu.

Sailors in Honolulu during WWII would anchor at this "hotel". This brothel matchbook has a lot of interesting writing on...
12/06/2019

Sailors in Honolulu during WWII would anchor at this "hotel". This brothel matchbook has a lot of interesting writing on it and it was recommended by Hotel Street Harry, a columnist for the MidPacifican publication, in three different articles!

This Palace was a "tourist destination" for sailors during WWII. A man would pay $3 to spend time with a lady here.
12/05/2019

This Palace was a "tourist destination" for sailors during WWII. A man would pay $3 to spend time with a lady here.

This is the matchbook for the boogie house that Jean O'Hara worked in. She was a prostitute but she also had a lot of se...
12/04/2019

This is the matchbook for the boogie house that Jean O'Hara worked in. She was a prostitute but she also had a lot of self respect and didn't tolerate poor treatment. I was astonished and delighted to find a matchbook for HER establishment and I'm sharing it with you now. If you want to listen to her book I but a video of me reading it on YouTube. You can also purchase her book on Amazon, Honolulu Harlot.

I found this matchbook for a WWII brothel and I wanted to share it with you. The picture is a man smiling with the words...
12/03/2019

I found this matchbook for a WWII brothel and I wanted to share it with you. The picture is a man smiling with the words "This man patronizes us" but if you turn it upside down the man is frowning and the words say "This man wishes he had".

01/18/2019

Today is the 125th anniversary of the overthrow of the Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands. To learn more about it you can come on my tour tomorrow at 9:30AM or Saturday at 9:30AM. It starts in front of the Queen Lili`uokalani statue.

10/02/2018
Honolulu Civil Beat

Honolulu Civil Beat

Chinatown tour guide Carter Lee Churchfield talks about the historic Smith’s Union Bar. Check out Monday’s Civil Beat to see what’s going on with this historic dive bar.

MVP3 Radio Show "Finding My Yes"
05/16/2018

MVP3 Radio Show "Finding My Yes"

Join and share the MVP3 Radio Show "Finding My Yes" page and a lucky random winner will receive two passes to the WWII Red Light Tour
https://m.facebook.com/FindingMyYesRadioShow/

Tweet Travelers
WWII Red Light Tour
Marina Tapia Huizar

04/11/2018

Stealing Hawai`i: The Rise and Fall of the Last Queen, a new tour opening this week!

12/08/2017
10/24/2017

I'm announcing my new tour, Stealing Hawai`i: The rise and fall of the last Queen.

03/16/2017
The Glades Project

Its wonderful to see a documentary about the recent history of Chinatown.

The Glades Project - Work in Progress (TRT: 03:48)
THE GLADES PROJECT REVEALS AN INTEGRAL PART OF HAWAII'S CULTURE AND HISTORY THAT HAS BEEN KEPT IN THE DARK UNTIL NOW...
Revealing contemporary cultural challenges after statehood that was endured by a marginalized minority of Pacific Islanders known as Mahu. We begin with the Glade Show Lounge, located in the heart of Honolulu’s Old Chinatown at 152 N. Hotel St. which at the time was the red light district. This is a celebrated group of local Mahu (transgender), where genders were blurred and ordinary boys became beautiful girls. The billboard moniker read in brightly lit lights: Glade Show Lounge Where Boys Will Be Girls
The Glades Project reveals the stories that take viewers deep into the body and soul of the reality of life in Hawaii as never before seen.
Your support is appreciated GO TO: thegladesproject.com
#hulagirlprod Hula Girl Productions
#filmfestint #KITV4 #khonNews #KGMB9News #PBSHawaii #reelnewshawaii #hawaii #HawaiiNewsNow #CreativeHI808 #get2HI
Hawaii Filmmakers Group
Film Fest International
Scott Rogers Studios
Hawaii Filmmakers Collective
Hawai'i Women in Filmmaking
Hawaii's Film Industry
KHON2 News
KITV4 Island Television
Hawaii News Now
Reel News Hawaii
PBS Hawai‘i
Hawaiʻi Public Radio
Film Industry Network
Film Industry Network UK
Hawaiist
The Acting Studio Hawaii
Hawaii Conversation
Orig Media
Kualoa Ranch
Playbuilders of Hawaii Theater Company
Film Actor's Studio
Filmmakers News
Women Make Movies
Women In Film
Mamamia Women's Network
IndieWire
Neighbor Islands Movie And Television Consortium
HAWAII Magazine
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaii Five-0
Hawaii Forward
Hawaiian 105 KINE
KGMB CBS

01/19/2017

People who have Liked this page; Why did you Like it? Are you planning on taking the tour or is there another reason?

01/15/2017

How did the great fire of Chinatown start on January 20th , 1900? Take the Devil's Den Tour on it's 117-year anniversary to find out!

01/14/2017

January 20th will be the 117 year anniversary of the great Chinatown fire! If you would like to learn about it and the events that led up to it take my new tour: the Devil's Den Tour!

It will be at 7pm, 90 minutes long, $20 per person. It starts and ends in Chinatown.

Interesting article about the man who wrote the novel Hawai`i. http://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/st-michaels-chara...
06/12/2016
St. Michaels Character of the Day: The Crazy Life of James Michener, Millionaire & Cheapskate

Interesting article about the man who wrote the novel Hawai`i. http://www.secretsoftheeasternshore.com/st-michaels-character-day-crazy-life-times-millionaire-cheapskate-james-michener/

The novel “Chesapeake” was published on June 12, 1978, which makes the weekend when I am posting this piece the 38th anniversary of its appearance. By the time that book appeared, James Michener was already famous the world over. We are talking here about a guy who sold 75 million books during his l...

I will be giving mini tours during the festival!
06/10/2016

I will be giving mini tours during the festival!

Won't be long now...

Lovely photo of Aloha Tower. Can anyone date it?
05/27/2016

Lovely photo of Aloha Tower. Can anyone date it?

Address

1130 Bethel St
Honolulu, HI
96813

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 23:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 23:00
Wednesday 08:30 - 23:00
Thursday 08:00 - 23:00
Friday 08:00 - 23:00
Saturday 08:00 - 23:00
Sunday 08:00 - 23:00

Telephone

(808) 670-7090

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when WWII Red Light Tour posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to WWII Red Light Tour:

Shortcuts

Nearby museums

Other Honolulu museums

Show All