Hi everyone — greetings from the History Dept. The Elks built their grand downtown Tacoma building in 1915-16. After fifty years, the organization decided to move across Commencement Bay to the suburbs in a brand-new, modernized building. The lovely old Elks building on Broadway then sat empty for six years until 1971. And then, for…

Hi everyone — greetings from the History Dept. Check out this cool new piece by artist Lillian Ripley, then read about its super-weird yet fun connection to the Elks and how they turned a strange rumor into a tongue-in-cheek legend. ****** The artist of this piece found inspiration in a 1920s-era postcard bearing the mysterious…

Think you’re a McMenamins history buff? Identify the five properties associated with these images. Property #1 Spar Café (Olympia, WA) – Want to try a beer made with 3,330-year-old artesian well water (give or take 50 years)? The beer is brewed using water from the artesian well bubbling up in the basement. Property #2 Olympic…

Hello from the History Department — All Tacoma, all the time! Speaking of time, this week’s history is about a Tacoma woman way ahead of her time. Thea Foss turned one green-and-white rowboat into what eventually became a world-class fleet of maritime vessels and a company still in operation today. Look for the green-and-white Foss…

Hello from the History Department — By now you may have seen the “before” images of the Tacoma Elks building – decaying, waterlogged and covered in graffiti. Through one of our Tacoma artists, Jeremy Gregory, whose work is now found throughout the hotel, we were able to connect with a few of the graffiti writers…

Hello from the History Department — This past Friday, March 8, was International Women’s Day. And to celebrate, members of the Pink Boots Society gathered at the Concordia Brewery in Kennedy School for the 2nd Annual Pink Boots Collaboration Brew Day, a worldwide event. Fittingly, the group was led by recent  26th Annual Hillsdale Battle…

Hello from the History Department — What’s all the hubbub about Bob? The 20th Annual UFO Festival is just a couple months away and tickets are now on sale! One of our most highly anticipated guests this year is Bob Lazar, who has been called “the singular most famous and controversial name in the world…

Hello from the History Department — We continue with another installment of “Just Who Were These Tacoma Elks?” Meet Jackie and Bob Morgan – she’s 4th from the left in the stylish 1950s skirt-and-sweater ensemble, while her husband is 3rd from right in the fetching grass skirt and bikini top. ****** Live doo-wop music swung…

Hello from the History Department — When one thinks of the Elks, one doesn’t immediately think of baton twirling. Think again… She came strutting and swinging into view with two furiously spinning batons catching the sunlight. She danced like Ginger Rogers. She did splits so gracefully you didn’t wince. And she made better catches than…