Kalanianaole Hall sits by the sea in a grove of coconut trees at Kalamaula, west of Kauanakakai. These coconuts are believed to have been part of the larger Kapuaiwa grove, the royal grove of Kamehameha V, the main body of which sits to the west of the hall's property. The grove was planted for the king by R. W. Meyer in the mid-nineteenth century. This single-wall wooden building is defined by its shingled hipped roof with overhanging eaves and a similarly roofed projecting entrance. It has served the community as a meeting and banquet hall, gathering place, movie house, and funeral hall. Ventilation is achieved through symmetrically placed sets of three double-hung windows and double doorways centered in the front and rear walls. The short door at the rear was for conveying caskets to and from the building.
The Ahahui Kalanianaole, a benevolent association open to Hawaiian men on Molokai, constructed this lodge hall. The association's purpose in the period before readily available life and health insurance was to care for the sick and assure a fitting funeral for its dead. The hall is now under the care of a similar organization, the Molokai chapter of Hale O Na Alii O Hawaii, whose membership is limited to those people who are benevolent and native Hawaiian. The land is leased from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.