Elvis Aloha Statue
Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
It's been a while now since cable channel TV Land abandoned its ambitious PR project to populate America with bronze tributes to classic television heroes. Still, we can't complain, since the world is richer with statues of Ralph Kramden, Andy Griffith, Mary Richards and others in their fictional TV hometowns.
One place where they broke form was in Oahu, Hawaii, choosing to honor a real person, Elvis Presley, instead of, say, the original Detective Steve McGarrett. The important TV milestone used as an excuse was the "World's First Satellite TV Concert" performed here in January 14, 1973. The life-sized statue was unveiled on July 26, 2007, which happened to coincide with the channel's scheduling of "Elvis Month."
The statue stands near the parking lot of the Neal Blaisdell Center, along a walkway to the concert hall's ticket windows. Elvis, acoustic guitar strapped on, is depicted in full sweaty croon atop a circular pedestal, a sprinkling of stars surrounding the title "Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii." Another plaque on the walk credits the TV Land connection.
We didn't notice any prominent statue burnishing on E's appendages yet, but like almost every other statue in Honolulu, Elvis wears a lei of fresh flowers.