Punchbowl

Punchbowl - darkometer rating : 2 - “Punchbowl” is the informal name for an old volcanic crater right in Honolulu, towering above the cityscape. Inside is what is officially designated the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific . It is Hawaii 's equivalent to Arlington , and as such a noteworthy destination for the dark tourist too. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The crater known as “Punchbowl” today (its original Hawaiian name is “Puowaina”) was formed in an eruption that took place some 100,000 years ago during O'ahu's phase of secondary volcanic activity. In ancient periods of old Hawaiian culture it apparently was a sacred place which even functioned as an altar for human sacrifice. Later during the post-contact Hawaiian kingdoms a battery of cannons was installed up here, taking advantage of the vantage point above Honolulu harbour that the mountain provided. Just before and during WWII the Punchbowl served military purposes for the USA too. The slopes were settled in the late 19th century. And as early as the late 1890s first proposals for using the interior of the crater as a burial site were put forward, but were generally rejected. Following WWII, veteran organizations campaigned for the creation of a burial site for the thousands and thousands of servicemen who had lost their lives in the Pacific and were still awaiting a proper burial. In 1948 it was approved that the Punchbowl would be turned into such a central burial site and construction work began shortly after. The inauguration of the site with the first burials took place in early 1949.