Tacoma’s Elks Temple turns 110! What you should know about the historic building
The Elks Temple in Tacoma turns 110 this year, but it doesn’t look a day over 50.
That’s thanks to McMenamins, the Portland-based chain that acquired the building in 2009 and transformed it into the sprawling, ornate, multifaceted edifice that Tacoma knows today.
McMenamins celebrates the Elks Temple’s 110th birthday on Saturday, and visitors can expect to find a party in each corner of the building — which holds a hotel, a pub, a music venue, a brewery and multiple bars.
There will be property-wide food and drink specials, history and art tours, and a performance from the AC/DC tribute band Shoot to Thrill to end the night in the Spanish Ballroom.
Coinciding with the celebrations is also the creation of new patio seating outside in the garden, also known as the Goat Lot.
A brief history of the Elks Temple
The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks spent $160,000 to build the Elks Temple in 1916, which would become the fraternity organization’s new Tacoma lodge.
The Elks used the building until 1965, and for the next two decades, the building became a popular community event space, hosting functions like dances and conventions.
That was, until 1986, when events ceased and the Elks Temple sat vacant for over 30 years.
There were still a few visitors from time to time, though. In the 1990s, graffiti artists used the Elks Temple as their canvas (more on that later).
Finally, in 2009, the Elks Temple would be put to good use once again. Company founders Mike and Brian McMenamin bought the building that year for around $1.2 million, carrying on the McMenamins traditions of restoring historic buildings.
After years of research and over $34 million in renovations, McMenamins Elks Temple as we know it today opened in 2019.
Getting to know the building
McMenamins can be a bit overwhelming to the uninitiated, with seven floors (technically eight, but the top floor is just employee-only facilities), and three entrances.
“I think it took me a month before I was really figuring out where I was,” said Ian Slick, general manager of McMenamins Elks Temple.
The first floor is home to The Old Hangout, a tiki bar that is the busiest out of the bunch, according to Slick. It stays open the latest out of the six bars, keeping the lights on until 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Also on the first floor is the brewery and bottle shop, which doubles as a tasting room (so we’re counting it as a bar). The latest creation from the brewery is a Tiramisu Pastry Stout, created specially for the 110th birthday festivities.
Along with beer, wine and other beverages, visitors can also buy McMenamins merch and gifts in the bottle shop.
Now onto the second floor, where you’ll find the Spanish Ballroom and the adjacent Spanish Bar. The ballroom is quite busy, with multiple bands and acts coming through each week.
In the past, it’s seen performers like Sir Mix-a-Lot, Portugal. The Man and many other rock, EDM, metal and tribute bands. If you don’t end up snagging tickets to the shows, though, don’t worry — the audio from the shows is broadcast live throughout most of the bars.
The Spanish Bar, meanwhile, is a tapas-style cafe, serving up Spanish-inspired bites and cocktails. The bar also has a patio, overlooking the Spanish Steps (which were built in 1916, modeled after the Roman landmark of the same name).
Going up the third floor, you’ll find Doc’s Bar, complete with pinball machines, pool and shuffleboard. Doc’s Bar technically overlooks the Spanish Ballroom, but the view is curtained off to prevent non-ticket-holding customers from sneaking a peak of the shows.
There’s another place to get drinks on the third floor, but it’s purposely hard to find. The Vault is McMenamins’ speakeasy-style bar, and staff aren’t supposed to tell people how to find it.
“The concept of the Vault is that people just wander into it,” Slick said. “It’s a huge concept for McMenamins, they have a lot of secret rooms like that … customers will just start touching walls everywhere just to see if there’s some sort of secret room.”
Once customers find the Vault, they’ll be treated to the sounds of the Grateful Dead, the only music that the bar plays (the McMenamin brothers are big Deadheads).
The fourth floor may be the most familiar, since it’s accessed by the main entrance on Broadway. The hotel lobby sits on this floor, along with the spacious McMenamins Pub, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This is as far as two of the stairwells go, while the other two service the whole building.
The fifth floor is home to just about nothing, save a few decorations and a big window. However, Slick says he wants to do more with the small space, maybe setting up a temporary mini bar in the future.
The sixth and seventh floors hold a good chunk of the hotel rooms, but there’s also rooms on the second, third and fourth floors.
While many of the rooms are special in their own way, Room 201 has an especially interesting backstory. Also known as the graffiti room, it’s covered in graffiti and murals created by one of the original graffiti artists that roamed the building in the ‘90s, who was tracked down by the company during the restoration.
There’s also graffiti art featured throughout other parts of the building.
Those interested in learning more about the ins and outs of the Elks Temple simply need to walk the halls — every few feet there’s a picture or plaque with another historic tidbit.
Slick said many folks will come by and talk about their memories of visiting the Elks Temple back in the day.
“It’s very nostalgic, and it’s very emotional for them to see the space that had been empty for so long, and then see it getting revitalized,” Slick said.
Even after three years of working at McMenamins, Slick said he also is delighted by the building.
“There’s just nothing like it,” Slick said.
