The historic Lanakila Congregational church was built here in 1865−67.[5]
Its founder Rev. John Davis Paris (1809–1892) and his family are buried in the cemetery.[6]
The church was built on the land of William Johnson, who would marry the grandnephew of Isaac Davis, and have a daughter who married the son of Rev. Paris, and another who married wealthy businessman William Herbert Shipman.[7]
In 1868, the self-proclaimed prophet Joseph Kaona convinced a band of followers the world would soon end. They tried to take over Lanikila church, then formed a communal camp on the beach. After the loss of two lives, they were captured and briefly imprisoned.[8]
In 1932 the Tanimoto Theater opened here, showing both American and Japanese films for workers in the Kona coffee industry.[9]
It was designed by William Harold Lee, and seated 325.[10]
After World War II the name was to Aloha Theater. It was shut down in the 1970s, but restored and re-opened, playing mostly live events. It is the oldest theater in Kona that is still operating.[11]
The theater now houses a restaurant and since 2003 has been the home of the Aloha Performing Arts Company.[12]
The Kona Research Station of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources of the University of Hawaii is located here.[13]
Although a trail originally led to a small settlement at the beach, the road was moved uphill to accommodate the growing traffic through the coffee-producing region. The two-lane road is now often congested, resulting in what locals call the "Kainaliu crawl". An attempt to open a bypass highway in 2000 was stalled by lawsuits,[14]
but a portion was opened in 2009.[15]
The legal challenge to the rest of the new highway had risen to the Supreme Court of Hawaii.[16]
The road was a condition of the Hōkūliʻa development of a golf course and vacation home development near the shoreline.[17]
