The Ala Wai Canal was made in 1928 in order to drain the swamps and rice paddies so as to build the tourist center of Waikiki. The area used to be a swampland that had waterlogged fish and duck ponds. The canal also serves as a primary drainage corridor for rain waters, streams and rivers from central and east Honolulu into the Pacific Ocean. The canal has a length of 1.5 miles and starts northwest of Kapahulu Avenue, which also marks the entrance to Waikiki.
The Ala Wai Canal has a walkway on the ocean side that is very well lit and often used by locals for walks and jogging. Until 2006, before it was contaminated when heavy rain overwhelmed the sewers in the area, the canal was also being used by Honolulu's outrigger canoe club for training. A bypass sewage system is being built which will eliminate the problem in the future. From a part of the canal, Diamond Head can be seen from afar.
From the banks of the canal, it is possible to see different marine life such as baby cake, crabs, stick fish, or jellyfish. The architect of the canal was Walter F Dillingham's Hawaiian Dredging Construction Company. Work started in 1921 and was completed in 1928. The creation of the canal shunted the flow of the streams directly into the ocean, making it possible the creation of several square miles of new real estate.