Historic Black Alexandria Elks Lodge #48

Historic Black Alexandria Elks Lodge #48 (227 N. Henry Street), formed in 1903 when the members were not allowed to join the local White Elks chapter, was once the hub of African American community life in the Parker-Gray neighborhood.  In its heyday it had hundreds of members, and served as an unofficial stop in the Green Book for travellers who could not find accommodations in the area--or for soldiers who could not find a USO room to welcome them during WWII or the ensuing Jim Crow era.  The auditorium was a popular event space where entertainers such as Ray Charles, Little Richard and Ike and Tina Turner performed--and youth oratorical contests were held.  Over time the membership dwindled, and the state of the lodge building itself declined.  In 2020 Preservation Virginia placed the lodge on its "Most Endangered Historic Places" list.

During the past five years, we have made urgent repairs, and worked hard to clear and clean a century's worth of "stuff."  The city advised us that to restart our community outreach efforts, we needed to purchase commercial kitchen equipment in order to serve meals for seniors and hold events for youths in the area.  As a result of the Spring2ACTion donations we received in the past we were able to purchase the equipment and expand the programs we offer.  Thanks to a portion of the generous grants we have previously received by the Historic Alexandria Foundation, we have had the historic tin ceiling in the large meeting room scraped and painted, and the shingle roof on the N. Henry Street side replaced (completed Summer 2024).  Once the roof leaks were stopped, we personally removed old carpeting and restored the wood floors on the second floor.

The Alexandria Historical Society awarded a grant to the Elks in Fall 2024 to help us safeguard and preserve our archives and records (and those of our affiliated organization, the Daughters), and to digitize the non-confidential documents to have them available for public viewing.  This Alexandria Historical Society grant is not designed for work on the actual lodge--so we are seeking help through Spring2ACTion to get damaged walls and ceilings repaired.  Most of the damaged walls are plaster--which is more expensive to repair than sheetrock.  Many of the damaged ceilings can be repaired with sheetrock--and we are addressing them all as funds permit.  

The Elks' motto is "to promote charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity" (IBPOEW--Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World) and we want to do just that.  Thank you all to those of you who can help.  We are slowly but surely working to save the lodge--and your help is so appreciated!  We are a small "band of brothers"--but we will persevere!!