It was built in 1916 -- a huge marble building. Next to the building are the magnificent sixty-four Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps were designed after the Scala di Spagna of Rome and once led to the Spanish Embassy in Tacoma, which was (and still is) a major west coast shipping port.
This building cannot be attributed to the IBPOEW, unfortunately (one of the earliest African-American fraternal organizations and a rare source of black power in the early 20th Century). It’s BPOE -- the Elks that still occupy lodges today (although membership in all these fraternal organizations (I ought to be an OddFellow, don’t you think?) is aging and dwindling.)
My goal was to get as many pictures of it in its current condition before it was either torn down or fixed up.










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