Grand Junction Elks Lodge #575

Grand Junction Elks Lodge #575 was founded in 1900 by local drug clerk, 32-year-old J. Morrison Wohlfort. Before the present lodge home was built, the founding Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks met in the I.O.O.F Hall at 454 Main Street. The building was designed in a strong Italian Renaissance style by the local architectural and engineering firm of Jenkins and Branscombe. In March 1914, a race at the fairgrounds at Lincoln Park was staged to raise money to help pay for the lodge, with famous race car driver Barney Oldfield driving an automobile against aviation pioneer Lincoln Beachey flying an airplane, and Oldfield and his car winning. The building cost $38,326.25 to construct, and with furniture and fixtures the total cost was $79,815.31. In 1949, the lodge approved an interior reconstruction in which the dark walls were painted over and the Music Room, Library, and elaborate Palm Room with its live fish pond and fountain were removed, and the remodeled lodge included a new ballroom. Over the years, the lodge has hosted school proms, WWI and WWII soldiers, dances, and fundraisers.

Grand Junction, Colorado · United States