Ask Vance Blog

In the December issue of Memphis magazine, I told the compelling, thrilling, and ultimately heart-rending story of the Elks Club / Hotel, one of the finest such clubs in the entire country, and a downtown landmark that — by then known as the Hotel King Cotton — ultimately fell to the wrecking ball to make way for the Morgan Keegan Tower.

Did you get all that, or should I repeat myself? Whew, I get long-winded sometimes.

ANYWAYS. The University of Memphis Special Collections Department has a very fine booklet that was published to announce the opening of the new Elks Club, and it was just packed with nice photographs and illustrations showing off the rather magnificent facilities available to club members. And since I'm feeling curiously kind-hearted tonight (it must be the cheap liquor), I thought I'd share some of those images with you, so you can see what we have lost. And as you gaze upon these marvels, remember this: They were available to the men only. Since they weren't actually Elks, the only part of the club that the women could enjoy was the "Ladies Writing Room" on the top floor.

We ran a few of these images in the December issue. Here's the rest. Click on any image to enlarge it, and enjoy!

PHOTOS COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS LIBRARIES