"This astonishing seven-floor Beaux Arts palace might be the crown jewel of the Portland-based McMenamins empire. Built in 1916 by the Fraternal Order of the Elks, it was abandoned for decades, then painstakingly restored from its graffiti-covered state over several years. Reincarnated in 2019, the Elks Temple includes a a Spanish tapas bar, a pool-and-pinball tavern, a sit-down pub loaded with salvaged Victorian stained glass, an elaborate tiki bar replete with a waterfall, a hillside garden, a whole-ass concert venue (the Spanish Ballroom), an entire brewery works + bottle shop, and a secret craft cocktail bar hidden beneath the sidewalk. All of it is styled gorgeously in ornate antique furniture and signature McMenamins murals. The complex is also a (surprisingly affordable!) hotel, with 40 rooms scattered throughout the building. Plus you can amble around from floor to floor with your food and drinks, marveling at all the artwork and goings-on. It’s like indoor Reno, all in one massive, zany edifice." - Meg van Huygen, Sue Kidd
