Look to your left for a massive rectangular building made of rough-hewn stone, featuring deep arched entryways on the corner and a line of tall, slender cypress trees standing guard along the side. This is Elks Lodge Number 468. Building a culture in the middle of nowhere didn't just happen overnight... it took serious heavy lifting. In 1903, locals began hauling this native stone down from the Metcalfe Quarry in the Cerbat Mountains to construct a grand Romanesque clubhouse. Romanesque architecture is famous for exactly what you see here... thick, heavy walls and rounded arches designed to look permanent and imposing. Local builder John Mulligan actually laid many of these massive quarry stones with his own two hands. The sheer effort paid off. The upper floor became the social headquarters for several fraternal orders. In fact, remember the IOOF building we passed a little while ago? The Odd Fellows actually shared this upper floor with the Elks until they outgrew it and built that dedicated headquarters we explored earlier.
But the real magic happened on the ground floor. It was originally designed as Kingman's first opera house. By 1907, it was upgraded into a formal theater, bringing the sights and sounds of the outside world straight to this remote mining town. Residents packed the hall to watch early color newsreels of King Edward the Seventh's funeral, traveling minstrel shows, and even the original silent film adaptation of Frankenstein. It was a literal cornerstone of a blossoming, connected community. If you look closely out front, you will see an old street light. That is one of only two remaining lamps from a 1915 initiative to modernize the downtown streets. The building still sees plenty of action today, including a dramatic moment in 2008 when local artist Bob Boze Bell suffered a massive heart attack inside while rehearsing with his rock band. Thanks to the quick actions of his bandmates, he survived to tell the tale. Today, the lodge continues to host charity events, masquerade balls, and community gatherings, and it happens to be open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Next, we are taking a quick one minute walk over to the Little Red School to meet this town's most famous childhood resident.
