Who/What: Onsite tour for local media to view live window repairs to the fire-damaged, historic Billy Webb Elks Lodge. Part of the restoration includes second-story window repair using hands-on preservation techniques focused on wood window repair, energy efficiency upgrades for existing windows, and general wood repair for historic windows made possible by Restore Oregon’s Urban Racial Justice Field School, led by the Clatsop Community College Historic Preservation program. The field school will be onsite doing the window construction/restoration in person with both Clatsop students enrolled in the program and local community members learning these valuable skills.

The onsite tour offers media opportunities to take photos, shoot b-roll footage, and interview the following:
- Ryan Prochaska, Program Director/Faculty Instructor for Clatsop Community College Historic Preservation Program: "We are honored to partner again with Restore Oregon in saving this important historic Portland landmark. Not only are we preserving architecture and history, but also preserving the important craft skills that keep buildings standing," said Prochaska.
- Deborah Roache’, Daughter Ruler of the Billy Webb Elks Lodge.
- Local community members and Clatsop Community College preservation students working onsite to restore the historic building using hands-on preservation techniques focused on wood window repair.
- Nicole Possert, Restore Oregon Executive Director, to answer questions related to Restore Oregon’s Urban Racial Justice Field School and the historic preservation challenges facing this Most Endangered Place.

The Billy Webb Elks Lodge, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, recently began phase 1 construction to repair debilitating fire damage to the historic structure that permanently shuttered the building in 2021. Located at 6 N. Tillamook Street, the Billy Webb Elks Lodge has served the traditionally African American neighborhood of Albina as a Black YWCA, a USO center for black servicemen, and as a Black Elks Lodge at a time when the Elks organization did not allow black members. Prior to the fire, the lodge used the historic building for community services and as a social gathering place, providing an environment that promotes safety, dignity, respect, and pride for people of all colors who have long and deep ties to the Albina community.

When: Saturday, June 1, 2024 from 2 - 4 p.m.

Where: 6 N. Tillamook Street, Portland, OR 97227

Why: In the early morning of September 11th, 2021, the Billy Webb Elks Lodge in North Portland’s Albina neighborhood suffered a devastating fire due to trespassers. The decking attached to the rear of the building caught fire, which in turn ignited two adjacent walls and the roof above the lodge’s ballroom. The blaze left gaping holes in the building’s roof, and burnt rafters throughout. Water destroyed the walls and floor of the ballroom and the basement below, and the entire interior has been damaged by smoke. The debilitating fire has rendered the organization unable to use its sole asset -- its historic building -- to raise the money necessary for its future survival. 

Billy Webb Elks Lodge leadership continues to work tirelessly on the rehabilitation of the heavily damaged historic structure, which serves as headquarters for Portland’s only remaining African American Fraternal Organization. However, the lodge still needs help from the community to secure funding for the final phase of construction. In 2020, Restore Oregon, a non-profit that works to save historic places in Oregon, listed the Billy Webb Elks Lodge as one of Oregon’s Most Endangered Places. Since then Restore Oregon has served as a vital partner to help secure the lodge from further disrepair and create a plan for the lodge’s future, including intensive technical assistance and preservation consultation in addition to capital fundraising support for the initial Phase 1 restoration project. 

With Phase 1 fully funded and work now underway, the Billy Webb Elks Lodge is now working to secure additional funding for Phase 2 construction that will restore the interior spaces, starting with the beloved ballroom before they will be able to fully re-open to the public. The Billy Webb Elks Lodge is asking the community for support and to please donate to help secure Phase 2 funding through their GoFundMe Campaign at https://gofund.me/5d20e5cf.

RSVP: Please contact Nicole Possert at ??(323) 449-6998 or nicole@restoreoregon.org.