LA GRANDE — It is not often that the flow of time reverses, but that is exactly what is happening for the former Elks Lodge building, 1124 Washington Ave., in La Grande.

Oregon Heritage, a branch of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, awarded building owners Jeanne and David Williamson, in partnership with Friends of La Grande Main Street, a $200,000 grant to restore the exterior facade of the building.

“It’s a really wonderful thing for us, David and me, to do this for our building, but it’s also a good thing for La Grande,” Jeanne Williamson said.

The couple purchased the historic building at the corner of Washington Avenue and Depot Street in August 2021. The first floor now houses Evermine — the Williamsons’ custom labeling company, which they relocated from Portland to La Grande after falling in love with the area.

Bringing the exterior more in line with the original historic look has been a goal for the new owners since early on.

The project will remove the exposed aggregate concrete paneling that covers the exterior, remove the oblong shapes that were added to the outside and restore the windows, according to Jeanne Williamson.

Looking at photos of the original building it appears that large rectangular stones made up the bottom third of the structure while brick spanned the remainder of the building’s facade. However, the condition of the original facade and the internal areas where the windows were located is unknown.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, or BPOE, built the lodge number 433 on Washington Avenue in La Grande in 1914.

Originally the building had three upper floors and the basement contained a swimming pool. The pool was eventually filled in and converted into a dining hall.

Then, in 1970, an electrical issue caused a fire that destroyed most of the third floor. The building was remodeled in 1971-72. The design included the addition of the main banquet hall, adding substantially to the square feet of the building.

The building was purchased by Jeri and Jay Mackley in 2010, which is when it became the Maridell Center.

While the facade project will create a more historical look for the building, Williamson said it would be impossible to completely restore or replicate the original design. Unfortunately a lot of elements have been destroyed — both by the fire that took out the top floor and also when it was being filled in.

“We can’t bring it back completely,” Williamson said.

Having an impact

The project will take upward of three years, Williamson said, and will be done in two phases.

The first phase will restore the Depot Street side of the building, while the second phase will tackle the Washington Avenue front of the former Elks Lodge.

Williamson said that ideally the Depot Street and Washington Avenue phases will each take a year — leaving them with the third year to finish up any additional work and tie up loose ends.

Part of the reason the third year was included on the grant application was to account for potential supply chain issues and delays due to contractor backlogs.

To secure the grant, the Williamsons’ worked with Monica McLaughlin, executive director of La Grande Main Street Downtown, and La Grande Economic Development Director Timothy Bishop.

The former Elks Lodge building is one of 27 matching grants worth nearly $5 million awarded this year by Oregon Heritage, according to a press release.

“We have seen the impact of these funds the local Main Street organizations have brought to their communities on projects to date. We are excited to support this new round of projects and the potential to enhance and support downtowns across the state,” Oregon Main Street coordinator Sheri Stuart said.

The grant program was created during the 2015 legislative session, according to the release. The initial infusion of funds came from the sale of lottery bonds, and the Legislature approved an additional fund infusion in the 2021 lottery bond package. If approved by the 2023 state Legislature, there will be another round of grant funding to support projects in 2024-25. A boon for Northeastern Oregon cities such as La Grande, the program requires that at least 50% of the funds go to rural communities.