Construction workers were finishing up major details of the new Royal Hawaiian (Honolulu) retail store just hours before the grand opening. Veteran grand opening attendee Mike said when he arrived Friday morning, “Workers were hanging the white Apple electric sign, but the wall is still not done.” However, by 5 p.m. the back-lit logo was lit, he reports. Check photos after the break.
Mark has been documenting the long construction of this store on his Web site, and has also posted a gallery of grand opening photos.
Check these flickr photos by “hawaii,” and video that he created, and some Qik videos that he posted.
Here are some photos by Mike.
The morning before the grand opening, workers on a scissor lift toil to get the back-lit Apple logo lit.
Veteran grand opening attendee Mike wonders if the store will be finished it time. It was.
Mike's view of the grand opening from his position in line. Note the hula dancers and the finished back-lit logo.
photo by 'hawaii" on flickr
Later on grand opening day, some water drops began forming near the front ceiling, perhaps from the air conditioning system.
During installation of the last stone siding, a stone struck the front window glass, partially 'spalling' a layer of glass but not breaking it.
E-mail this story
Related posts:
Loading ...
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
At 6 AM Saturday morning, the store was ready! I was amazed that they could get so much done overnight! The had a traditional Hawaiian blessing of the store and then many Hula Dancers before the store opened at 10 AM! Mahalo to all the workers and entertainers for a very Grand Opening!
Thanks for the photo link (I’m “hawaii” on Flickr). I also put together a HD video of the grand opening (including the last frantic hours of construction):
http://www.vimeo.com/1830381
Wow, beautiful Apple Store out of all 3 in O`ahu =) I’ll stop by when I get to visit there again!!
I wonder, which location in Hawaii will Apple Store aim for next???
It’s incredible that we have three stores so close together, yet other islands with no stores at all. My bet is Maui, long shot Kona. The economy being what it is, though, I doubt either will happen.
Aloha,
Apple entertained everybody for an hour and a half with the Blessing Ceremony and the three Hula Halaus (hula groups). Nice commitment Apple.
It was amazing that they still had to work over night to get this store ready. The flagstone in the walkway could have been finished months ago.
I definitely recommend Ryan’s video. The store is different and the presentation unique.
This is my web page on the Grand Opening:
web.mac.com/marktrek/Apple/Royal_Hawaiian_Center.html
And if you have not seen the photos before, the construction webpage is:
web.mac.com/marktrek/Apple/RHC_Construction.html
So why do we hang around new Apple stores? Well I reconnected with my old friend Ryan, and made a new friend in Mike.
I hope that you come to Hawaii to see it personally.
Mahalo
Ryan — I just got a chance to watch the video–great coverage! It covered all the key elements of such a unique opening and gave a great flavor of the event. Oh, and love that Vimeo HD!