No other building reflects the passage of time so openly as McMenamins Elks Temple. From its Beaux-Arts-inspired origins, it started out rooted in America’s “City Beautiful” movement of the dawn of the last century and transitioned to the postwar optimism of the mid-century moderns. Next, came the decades of urban decay—neglect, vandalism, and graffiti. Elks Temple has lived through it all. We worked very closely with McMenamins to preserve the history of the place while making the required interventions necessary for it to work as a thriving music, arts, dining and bar venue today. Our collective approach kept the scars that honor the full life-story of the building but give it back its historic soul. Operating as a hotel for the first time in its history, no two guest rooms are the same. Most have views of the Puget Sound and downtown Tacoma, while others look inward, toward the double-height Temple Room where the Elks held their swearing-in ceremonies.