Greenville Elks Lodge
National Register Listing
Street Address:
E. North St., Greenville, SC (Greenville County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817723079
Description and Narrative:
The Greenville Elks Lodge, constructed in 1949, is architecturally significant as a rare example of surviving institutional architecture designed by the renowned regional architect William Riddle Ward, Jr. This work is also rare for Ward as one of only two surviving Art Deco or Moderne inspired works by the architect as he favored traditional revival styles even for his single family and larger commissions. The four-story Elks Lodge also stands out within downtown Greenville as a rare intact Art Deco/Moderne building. It is a transitional resource which bridges pre-World War II design with more severe, less elaborately adorned buildings in the postwar era. It is also one of only a handful of large-scale buildings that survives from the time between Greenville’s large buildings booms of the 1920s and the 1960s onwards. The building is highlighted by horizontal bands of brickwork, limestone, and metal sash windows. The historic entry to the upper floors is the most prominent exterior part of the building and features Art Deco decorative elements with a Moderne canopy. The historic Elks theater is intact on the top floor along with historic doors and offices scattered throughout the building. Most historic Elks lodges occupied former houses or shared space with existing downtown commercial entities. There are no other known purpose built historic lodge buildings in the state, and no lodges known to have been equal to the scale of the 1949 Greenville Lodge. Listed in the National Register October 5, 2015.
Period of Significance:
1949
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Architecture
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
October 5 2015
