Plaque

Elks Club

DOWNTOWN

2018 Allston Way Map View

CITY OF BERKELEY LANDMARK

designated in 1991

ELKS CLUB BUILDING

Walter H. Ratcliff, Jr., Architect, 1913

Berkeley’s Elks Club, the 1002nd Chapter of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, was founded in 1905, just in time for members to assist those displaced by the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Later they helped wartime survivors and needy children.

This is one of many Ratcliff buildings in Berkeley. Classical Revival-style pilasters at corner bays, the projecting cornice, and oversized oak doors are in the tradition of men’s clubs of the era. This building’s three-part composition, formal second-floor detailing, and Greek frieze are elements of Beaux-Arts design.

Sold by the Elks to a church group in the 1990s, the building was acquired in 2008 by the Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center.

Berkeley Historical Plaque Project
2011


  • Elks Club Building, photo George O. Petty (2023).

  • Elks Club (2010), photo R. Kehlmann.

  • Elks Club oak doors (2010), photo R. Kehlmann.

  • “Allston Way, from Shattuck, West,” postcard (ca.1915), Sarah Wikander collection.

  • Elks Club Lodge Room, postcard, Sarah Wikander collection.

  • Elks Club, Club Room, postcard, Sarah Wikander collection.

  • Club Room with Elks, postcard, Sarah Wikander collection

Photo credit abbreviations:
BAHA: Berkeley Architectural Heritage Assn.
BHS: Berkeley Historical Society