A New Life for the Elks
Tacoma’s historic Elks building is known to just about everyone in the city. The building’s fall and rise in our collective conscience has created many civic heartaches. The gorgeous white exterior. The grand doorways and windows. The Spanish Steps. Its one time grandeur harkens back to the hey-days of Tacoma’s success. It has stood in silence and deteriorated over the last 50 years. Finally, there may be hope in sight.
A local development group entered into a sale agreement with Williams and Dame earlier this month for the Elks Building and the sale should be complete next week. The challenge for Williams and Dame, and every other developer that has looked at the property, is one of economics. How can somebody restore the building and still make money?
This Is Where It Gets Interesting
The idea currently making its way through the halls of Pierce County would link a renovated Elks Building to a greater change in how transit is managed in downtown Tacoma.
The scope of the project would extend from the north parking lot of the Elks Building south through the Lorig project. Pierce Transit would move their downtown bus service into the Commerce level of the new Lorig mixed-use building and off the several blocks of Commerce Street it now uses. All passengers would board buses from inside the transit station. The Commerce Street side of the Elks Building would become the entrance to a grand public space that would include retail, public uses, a large lobby, ticket sales, and the only access to the transit station.
The Spanish Steps would be renovated. The Elks Building’s parking lot would become a new mixed use project with parking. Retail would appear on the Broadway facing sides of the project. The Broadway level and upper floor of the Elks would be available for other uses. Restaurant? Children’s Museum? Commercial offices? Something else? How about a year round farmers market in the grand public space?
There are a lot of moving parts, several parties involved, and negotiations are ongoing.
The plan will be brought before the Pierce Transit Finance Committee this afternoon in order to get a letter of intent in place as soon as possible.
The potential of this development could be huge for the City. One element is the building itself. An iconic building would be renovated into a public space for everybody to use. A second element concerns the transit center. By shifting all the bus waiting areas under one roof with limited access, there are potential impacts for crime and safety. The new transit center would significantly improve the ability of the BIA and TPD to keep an eye on things. At the same time, it will remove the large crowds of people hanging out underneath the eaves as they wait for buses. This will completely change the look of Commerce Street.
The details are still a little fuzzy. But the partnership is priceless.
So Tacoma, are you ready to see Elk Station?
UPDATE – 3:56 pm
In today’s meeting, Jim Dugan and County Councilman Tim Farrell presented the proposal to the Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners. Dugan has been hired by the developer to be a consultant during the due diligence and feasibility portion of the purchase. The result of the meeting was that the commissioners directed staff to write a letter of interest to further explore this project once the developer has closed the sale.
The idea is intriguing. They have been exploring the possibility of ways to capture ridership and new markets. This is a potential new way to do that, but there are a lot of questions that need to be answered first.
The sale must close before any staff will be dedicated to the project.
Filed under: Developments
50 comments
J jamie from thriceallamerican May 30, 2008
Um, wow! This isn’t a Friday joke, is it?
D Dave May 30, 2008
Nooooooooooo!!!!!! Leave the Spanish Steps alone!!!
Turning this building into a transit center is an absurd idea. If anything, measures should be taken to keep buses (and bus people) away from this building!
E Erik Hanberg May 30, 2008
Sweet sassy molassy, what a plan!
E Erik Hanberg May 30, 2008
Dave—bus people? As it happens I’m taking the bus to Seattle today and leaving from the Elks sounds a lot better than leaving from Park Plaza North.
What’s wrong with a transit center on a grand-scale? Look at Grand Central Station in NYC and Union Station here. Great transit hubs are awesome. Also, the Spanish steps shouldn’t be going anywhere, just getting some badly needed help.
A altered chords May 30, 2008
Bus people? Gas prices keep going up we’re all going to be bus people.
This is very creative solution. I echo Erik H’s “sweet sassy molassy” sentiments.
Broadway level – obviously would be a perfect spot for a jazz club.
N NSHDscott May 30, 2008
I’m tentatively very excited about this, but refresh my memory: what’s the Lorig project?
T tacomachickadee May 30, 2008
It’s not a joke. These are exciting times! I’m giddy with anticipation … :)
J Jesse May 30, 2008
This building is a true treasure. I can’t wait!
Z ZestyJenny May 30, 2008
Okay, “Bus People” was definitely a poor choice of words, and I see Erik’s point about grand transit centers, but I see Dave’s point as well.
How attractive would these retail spaces be to shoppers and investers if the typical commerce street crowd were hanging out everywhere? It would be a shame for the building to be renovated and the steps to be spiffed up, and then for it not to be a place you want to spend time in.
Still, anything is better than the state it’s currently in.
M michael g. May 30, 2008
Count me as another “bus person” (and bike person and pedestrian person) who isn’t afraid of my fellow “bus people” who’s very excited about this news. Sounds like a great way to improve the vibrancy and livability of downtown.
B broadweezy May 30, 2008
Transit stations (bus or rail) are almost an entirely different architectural animal themselves, and they require specific design and structures of thier own (i.e. loading platforms, holding bays, wide curb-turning radii, ticketing areas, slopes that meet ADA standards, etc).
@ 4 – the reason Grand Central and Union Station work well as transit station is because they were designed to function that way. They were designed as transit stations featuring the great architecture of its day. Conversely, they were not designed to be great architectural wonders with function as an afterthought – which is the implication I see behind this transit staion idea for the Elks Building.
I applaud the efforts of the Pierce Transit and the City because I’m sure nobody wants to see the building go further south, but I would think that the architectural changes necceary to turn into a transit station would get easily held up in the historic landmark review process, not to mention public commenting and hearing process. Plus, I would think that transit station design needs would end up stripping the building of its characteristic features which is why I might tend to agree with #2.
P Phil May 30, 2008
Perhaps also a way to support Downtown tourism (art museums, restaurants, antique shops). If Elks Station became an iconic presence for Seattle folk/the region, & it was well known you could hop a 590 anywhere along downtown Seattle & ‘make it a day’, the opportunities for a unique Tacoma experience could be exploited.
Besides, I hear there are more of them than us & they have a bit more cash on hand.
Funding mechanism is smart. 98402 has had good success with public partnerships.
R RR Anderson May 30, 2008
damned interesting. a bus station with antlers!
N NSHDscott May 30, 2008
Allow me to answer my own question @6:
Lorig and Associates owns part of the parking lot next to the Spanish Stairs, and apparently this land could be used by Pierce Transit for a new bus loading and turnaround facility, with a mixed-use building above it. At least, that’s how I read it.
As a side note, this plan not only saves the Elks Temple, it can re-energize empty Old City Hall across the street, and it can pave the way for improvements to the existing Pierce Transit hub that could also encompass the ugly North Park garage. And then perhaps that would add momentum to the stalled-out Winthrop renovation. Heck, could that PT/NP site be another option for an office building for Russell and/or DaVita? Talk about reclamation!
D Dave May 30, 2008
Maybe it was a poor choice of words, but I think some of you understand precisely what I mean, even if you pretend not to.
For the rest of you, I can only surmise that your experience with public transportation is fairly limited. Try this some time — ride ST to Seattle, and take note of the people riding along with you. Observe how they treat each other with common courtesy, and how they respect the bus and other transit facilities.
Once you arrive in Seattle, walk down hill one block from 4th Ave. to 3rd Ave. and get on a Metro bus headed just about anywhere in town. You are now on a bus largely full of “bus people”. Some are loud and obnoxious; some are hoodlums; some are prone to curse and abuse the driver and other passengers; some smell pretty bad. Observe the condition of the bus… the garbage left behind, the vandalized seats, the graffiti, etc.
These are the people often found loitering around almost any urban transit center that is not rigorously patrolled (such as ours in Tacoma). These are the people I deem not worthy of a palatial bus station — based purely on their behavior, and on how they have despoiled other facilities provided for public use.
Come on, surely there are a lot of far better uses for an historic treasure such as the Elks Lodge. I know we can do a lot better than this.
M M May 30, 2008
I would love love love a year-round indoor market (like the Ferry Building Market in San Francisco, but on a smaller scale.) It would be a fabulous spot to house small local bakeries, artisons, etc and have a farmers market once or twice a week.
And I should note that the Ferry Building in San Francisco has a good number of “bus people” types hanging around, and also has uppercrust housewives shopping for their dinner parties, and tourists wandering around – all in the same space. There just needs to be enough to draw different types of people for varied purposes and it will feel comfortable to everyone.
Some sort of public/private partnership implied by a transit terminal would probably be a good idea, since a number of smart developers haven’t been able to make this project pencil out privately.
Is this possibly a chance to extend the lightrail into Stadium District?
T tacomachickadee May 30, 2008
Creating a public gathering area with more reasons to go there beyond simply taking the bus can create natural “patrolling” effects, and a multiuse project like this would likely get more such attention anyhow. Look at the difference at Frost Park during Friday “chalk-offs” … an infusion of many different walks of life creates an entirely different atmosphere. I find this project is an inspiring way of thinking outside the box and working toward a solution I just might see become a reality in the next few years, rather than walking by a still-empty and ever-deteriorating building 5 years from now.
E Eric May 30, 2008
Wow…I hope we are back to the Friday spoof. I think it is a HUGE waste of a Tacoma Iconic building to be turned into a glorified bus station. Wouldnt we be better off taking such a place and having McMineamins build it into a bed and breakfast that can be a Northwest destination for tourism. We should be looking at something that puts tax dollars back into the city instead of something that costs to operate. On paper it might look attractive to some to get this restored but this could be one of Tacoma’s biggest mistakes. There are plenty of good people riding the bus but lets put in a needle exchange and a Methadone clinic in there while we are at it.
D Dave May 30, 2008
Eric, I love your idea about McMenamin’s (sp?). As much as I abhor tax subsidies, I would probably set aside my usual objections to see McMenamin’s come to Tacoma.
S Sassy McButterpants May 30, 2008
McMenamins is just not that into us. Didn’t they check it out and (like everyone else who looks at it) figure out it doesn’t pencil? Now we’re being clingy and desperate:
MeMenamins: Elks, I think you’re really pretty.
Elks/Tacoma: You too McMenamins! You’re the coolest. You’re so…Oregonian…and great.
McMenamins: The thing is, you just don’t pencil.
Elks/Tacoma: But…I’m a local treasure. A “Dusty Diamond!”
McMenamins: It was good times, hot lips. It’s not you, it’s me. Bye!
Elks/Tacoma: NOoooooooo!!!
We’re going to have to marry for money, not for love.
N NSHDscott May 30, 2008
McMenamin’s frittered away their chances over many years of tremendous community support. Screw ‘em. Anyway, if they ever want to acknowledge Tacoma, at this point I’d rather see them buy the Rogers Elementary building and repeat their success with the Kennedy School in Portland, but with an even cooler building.
As for other higher and better uses for the Elks Temple, I’m sure we could list several, but they remain daydreams. We actually need to do something one of these days. If our leaders have actually found a use for it that encourges transit, could potentially help extend the Link, leaves space open for other uses like the full-time farmer’s market, opens up Pierce Transit’s current location on Commerce to better uses, improves the Stadium Way gateway to Tacoma, and ultimately saves the Elks Temple from demolition by neglect, I’m all for it!
E Erik Hanberg May 30, 2008
I think it’s important to point out that using the Commerce side for a bus terminal uses up something like 10,000 – 20,000 sq. ft. of a 55,000 – 65,000 sq. ft. building. There’s a lot left to go around!
Filling the Commerce side has always been one of the most difficult challenges of the space. Having been inside, I can tell you that most of the good stuff is above the Commerce side.
What this allows is for the developers to say to financiers, we have a committed tenant for the hardest to fill piece of the building while we can renovate the rest for the cool needs that everyone wants to see the building used for.
That’s the real benefit here.
J Jim @ PSP May 30, 2008
Anything is going to be better than whats there now.
A year-round indoor public market with a large public transit center would be welcomed. Make this already existing high-density area of downtown THE anchor for the North Downtown business and Stadium residential areas public transit need.
And maybe with the help of the Bus People Mafia … Pacific Avenue, Commerce, Broadway and St. Helens can continue to grow into even cooler and better-used mixed-use areas than they already are.
No matter what … its gonna cost so much money to do anything to the Elks building that the new owners better have some deep deep pockets or its just gonna be Winfields redux. I’m just sayin …
D DavidS May 30, 2008
So what happens to Commerce between 9th & 13th? While there are a large number of people passing through this section of Commerce on buses everyday these people support a limited amount of actual commerce. Is the transit support a good/bad/indifferent thing for these businesses? Would something else come along to fill the gap?
Add these questions to the fact that this area has become purpose built for vehicles – mostly very large ones. To abandon it likely means another hole in downtown. Unless Greyhound is moving from the Amtrak station, I have a hard time seeing how the (expensive) underground bus barn will be useful without substantial renovations.
I’m not sure if the transit center at 8th & Commerce makes sense or not, but putting a finger in the dam makes the most sense when you’re not pulling it out of another hole.
D David Boe May 30, 2008
So who the heck buys a big bus garage in Downtown Tacoma that has a park on top? And if they do, what the heck do they put there? At least all of the transit riders provide some human action to Commmerce Street between 9th and 11th. What if they were not there? – it would be a far scarier place (although is would give a lot more sidewalk space for Friday Chalk-offs)…
J Jake May 30, 2008
If all this is going to happen the city needs a plan for the North Park Garage (hopefully tear it down :) and build a new building ) If not that is going to be one big dead zone.
C Chris K May 30, 2008
Commerce between 9th and 13th are presently dead AS IT IS. The two monstrous and stubby-looking parking garages built in the 70’s made it that way when all of the mixed-use buildings that were there were destroyed. Look at what exists on the northern end of Pacific and that’s what we destroyed for these eyesores.
This is a great development with the Elks Bldg. I can’t wait to hear and see more. This is the first I have heard about a developer talking about integrating transit into historic preservation. Very, very cool.
Now I hope the TNT editorial board doesn’t rush to judgment…
R Rick Jones May 31, 2008
The “Iconic Elks Buliding.” I hope we can agree that “iconic” in this context means “symbolic.” Although it was much before my time (and most of yours too) the Grand Symbol that the Old Elks Club (OEC) once represented has been replaced. Its replacement is an image of decay and and blind determination to preserve an ancient memory regardless of how impractical it is. How many alive today experienced the OEC’s grandeur? How long will we continue to let it rot in the center of our city? At this rate in another 40 years there will be nothing left to save. That’s one way to solve the problem.
But it’s not the right way.
Dugan and Farrell presented a good plan with a vision that would restore life to 7th & Commerce and we should support it.
D Dmitri May 31, 2008
Yeah, us bus people probably ought to just be shot. We smell bad, we’re rude, all of that and more. We’re especially unpleasant to people who think they’re too good to be there.
Actually, I encounter more rudeness and bad smells from people in cars than the people I travel with on public transportation.
I’m going to go take a shower to wash the grime of those comments off. Yes, I know exactly what you mean by your choice of words, and it’s exactly what your original phrase sounded like. Re-phrasing it doesn’t change it.
Stay in your car. The bus will much pleasanter without you. And so will the Elks building.
M Michelle May 31, 2008
The idea of combining a year-round public market with a transit facility in the same building is a good one, and I’m very excited at the possibility. Even if the market idea doesn’t fly, the transit facility there would be a good move.
And, as far as Dave’s “bus people” comment goes, I, too, take exception to his remarks. I’m a card-carrying professional who rides the bus to work in downtown Tacoma every weekday. Thank you for your eloquent rebuttal, Dmitri.
Dave, some of us would like to think that the T in Tacoma stands, among other things, for tolerance.
C crenshaw sepulveda May 31, 2008
$4.15 for a gallon of gas, seems to me the so-called bus people are the smart people.
J Jenyum May 31, 2008
Yeah, what is up with the “bus people?” Yes, I’ve complained about the situation at 9th and Commerce, but that’s not about the people actually riding the bus, it’s about the total lack of policing and fixed population of loiterers. If Tacoma’s downtown is truly going to grow, we will all have to embrace public transportation, and the people who use it. Actually, we’ll have to become those people.
If this happens, I’ll definitely be a bus person. That scene had stopped me for a while because I didn’t like waiting there for too long with the kids, but an enclosed transit center with other uses going on would go a long way toward remedying the problem.
As to the worries about the “businesses between 9th and 13th on Commerce.” What businesses? Cosmic Coffee is tiny and has tiny hours, and I think Mad Hat Tea company might actually benefit from the change. Other than that I can’t think of any functional businesses on that strip.
What can we do with an empty cavernous bus barn? Maybe that’s where we should put the year-round market! We’ve already got the outdoor one right up above in the Summer.
I think it’s irrational to hold out for a fantasy private investor, when the building needs millions of dollars worth of rehabilitation. There’s nothing attractive about that end of town right now, and it’s pretty hard to believe that a hotel operator would look at that space and think that’s where they want to put their next multi-million dollar project.
E Erik B. May 31, 2008
In today’s meeting, Jim Dugan and County Councilman Tim Farrell presented the proposal to the Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners.
Nice.
Congratulation to everyone in the private and public sector who are working on this. Hopefully, this project will be a great demonstration of leadership.
The Elks Temple must be functioning again for the Spanish Staircase to really work again after dark and for the streets to connect again.
M Michael S. May 31, 2008
I like the idea of this becoming like a miniature westlake center. simultaneously an urban mall and transit center, with the possibility of the children’s museum as well. would really help to make that particular area a little more vibrant.
D drizell May 31, 2008
About so-called “bus people:” who would want to live in a place where everything is obsessively clean and where nothing exciting ever happens? Tacoma is not Bonney Lake and should never desire to become just another bland suburb. People choose to live in urban environments simply because that’s where the action is. Each day is unpredictable. “Bus people” are part of the daily street theater that makes urban life interesting. I know I sound like Jane Jacobs, but that’s the truth.
As far as redevelopment of the Park Plaza garages, Commerce Street would have to be closed to bus traffic for any construction activity in that area anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to have a plan to permanently relocate the buses to a new location to accommodate redevelopment of that area (instead of the temporary stops on Market when the Link was under construction)?
Having a central bus depot would also benefit the bus riders in addition to the bus system. It would be especially helpful for those who do not ride the bus all the time. As it stands now, you have to know which bus bay you have to stand at to catch which bus. There are numerous bus bays between 9th and 13th on both sides of the street. Instead of having to walk the equivalent of eight city blocks to find the right stop, it would be much easier to just have one stop. This makes it much easier on the passengers.
D Dave May 31, 2008
Michelle @33:
Tolerate? Or enable? I think you may have those two concepts confused.
And besides, some things just shouldn’t be tolerated.
I happen to be a card-carrying union member who rides the bus. Should that have any bearing on my views?
W West Ender June 1, 2008
Not to go off topic here, but I agree with Dave about the “bus people.” I know it’s not politically correct but it’s something that needs to be discussed.
We have situation in Tacoma where because of several factors including DOC and Western State we have a rather large population of these folks.
When you enable and reward behaivor you’re going to get more of it. You can bet Bonney Lake doesn’t have a big problem because they don’t have shelters, etc. I posit “if you don’t build it, they will move elsewhere.”
Perceptions of disorder impact development and the desirability of living downtown. You want Tacoma to become a world class small city, you’re going to have to address these issues head on.
J Jake June 1, 2008
I wonder if light rail/streetcars will be part of this plan? If light rail or streetcars are built/expanded they are going to run off the LINK line on Commerce. Maybe a transition in the station from LINK to a streetcar line?
N NSHDscott June 1, 2008
Expanding off the idea of using Elks Station as a Link/streetcar transition:
1. Demolish the existing northernmost Link station.
2. Build a new Link station at the Commerce side of Elks Station.
3. Build a large elevator in Elks Station (which would probably happen anyway).
4. Start a lighter-weight streetcar line at the Broadway side of Elks Station that goes up Broadway and then Division to Tacoma General and beyond.
5. Promise to add a new Link station at the site of the existing Pierce Transit bus station, after that station and North Park Plaza are torn down and a big new office building is built in their place. Russell? DaVita? Someone new?
This plan avoids running the streetcar/Link up Stadium Way, which needs to handle commuter traffic as efficiently as possible. It puts the streetcar on a more pedestrian-friendly street that has lots of condos and apartments full of people who can ride it. It makes Elks Station more of a multi-modal transit hub, not just a bus depot. And it gives extra incentive for a developer to build much-needed office space to revitalize that strip of Commerce from 9th to 11th.
E Erik Hanberg June 1, 2008
Jake makes a good point: any expansion of the Link or move to couple streetcars with the Link could move the current Link station on Commerce to the Elks temple to make more of a transit center.
E Erik Hanberg June 1, 2008
Re: the side-thread we have going on …
I would suggest that the problems people have with the Commerce Station is environmental and not necessarily related to the bus riders.
If the problem really were the riders as opposed to the environment, then I wouldn’t feel more comfortable waiting for a bus at the Tacoma Dome station than waiting on Commerce. But I do; I would much prefer to wait at the Tacoma Dome because it’s better designed than Commerce for safety. I would also point to the brief period of time when the buses used Market instead of Commerce because of Link construction. Market felt much safer than Commerce.
Commerce is narrow, dark, and almost totally lacking retail and offices that would bring a mix of traffic flow.
The proposed plan at the Elks Temple would put the bus terminal on a wider and less-dark section of Commerce, with much more regular day and night activity due to the nearby residential/retail/office development.
I don’t believe problems from Commerce would necessarily translate over to the Elks.
C CA June 2, 2008
“1. Demolish the existing northernmost Link station.
2. Build a new Link station at the Commerce side of Elks Station.”
Absolutely outstanding idea! “Elks Station” could truly be a unique and functioning transit center unlike any in the northwest. Im liking this/these ideas.
J Jake June 2, 2008
I am pretty sure the 550 Broadway (said to be the developer) guys read this. Let them know you want the LINK/Streetcar involved in the project!
T Thorax O'Tool June 2, 2008
Interesting, interesting.
I’m a “Bus Person”. I ride the bus to and from work, and whenever walking isn’t practical. The current station down on Commerce has it’s perks, including being outdoors.
…which is also a downside. Ever wait out there for 20 minuets in the cold and the rain until the #65 shows up? Yeah, sucks pretty bad. Same goes for the heat… during the afternoon, the northbound side is directly in the hot, hot sun. Also sucks.
I’ve never been in the Elks building (although I have dreamed up what it might look like), nor can anyone I know except my grandparents remember it in it’s glory.
While we certainly should not fix it just for the sake of fixing it, putting it to a new, good use would do wonders.
Coming off of I-705, the lodge is the first thing you see…. in all it’s dilapidation. Having a grand bus terminal along with some nice retail (and the restaurant mentioned in the Trib article) would not only be an awesome way for us locals to ride the bus, but it certainly would help our image with visitors. As it is, Commerce can get kinda sketchy and really reminds me too much of riding the bus back in the 80s. Trust me, being a child on the bus then was scary… even with my mom there. Not to mention the renaissance lately in the St Helens/Broadway/Stadium District, the current area around the lodge is a rough transition from downtown proper.
I think, if this is done right, with careful planning for pedestrians, accommodation for bikes and the nice retail (read no cash advanced places or liquor stores * cough, 38th and Pac Ave, cough *) this could work nicely with the new LID on Broadway to make a very good, even upscale transition area. As for the former (current) station on Commerce, I’m agreed with one of the above comments, that if PT leaves the current station, there will be another hole in downtown.
My suggestion is simple:
Raze Park Place North. Put 5-7 stories of parking underground and put up a nice mixed-use, maybe 40 or so stories with retail along Commerce, some Class A office and some hotel space at top. The old bus barn could be retrofitted and we can have our downtown open-air market… the current Farmer’s market is above it already… make the lower portion permanent with tenants and still do the weekly deal above for the local farmers and shops who can’t (or won’t) set up permanent shop down below on Commerce.
…just my 2 cents.
J Jesse June 2, 2008
I say: Light rail to extend the couple of blocks to Elks on Commerce and Streetcar to start outside Elks on Broadway. Take the Spanish steps up to the City Streetcar line from the light rail line. How about a McMenamens on the main Broadway level and a dancefloor/ballroom (it’s already a delapitated ballroom)at the top for renting out and small concerts. Some old ballroom floors from this era have springs under them (does this one?)
Portland invested $57 million into it’s first streetcar line and it spurred one Billion dollars in investments there-after along the route——> Ever heard of the Pearl distict? A streetcar is a no-brainer for cities trying to develop themselves.
T Thorax O'Tool June 3, 2008
Ok, pretty neat but not nearly as awesome as my mind had conceived.
How’d you get the tour, Erik?
T Thorax O'Tool June 3, 2008
Ok, on closer inspection, the grand ballroom is about what I dreamed up.
How can I get a tour?
E Erik Hanberg June 3, 2008
Thorax—The Grand Ballroom really is the jewel of the place. It’s massive—far bigger than the pictures let on. It’s got the special something …
The second theater is really pretty cool, too. And standing in front of the bars you could easily imagine a swanky party going on.
The downstairs pool and other spaces on the Commerce level really are not that special (to me). It’s one of the reasons I like the bus-terminal plan: it allows the really incredible space at the top to be preserved.
As to the tour, those pictures were in 2006, when I was still at the Grand Cinema. The Elks was one of many buildings we toured as we considered possibly moving to another location downtown.
D drizell June 3, 2008
I’ve never seen the Commerce side, but I peeked in the Broadway side when Williams and Dame were doing some construction. I think any transit use is going to have to have high ceilings, in the old classical style, to really feel authentic. Many of our historic bus and train stations feature these high ceilings, including our very own Union Station. I’m not sure the Elks building can offer that same level of grandeur.
Perhaps one of the renovated floors could be the permanent home of the Horatio Theatre (it still exists, right?).
J jamie from thriceallamerican June 3, 2008
Erik, it would be great to see that Flickr set incorporated into something of an article or photo essay in a local publication–maybe City Arts? I know people are curious about the inside of that building, and I think they’d be impressed by the theater and ballroom.