McMenamins Elks Temple

Elks Temple suits an outing built around curiosity and a meal: choose an open public room, leave time to look at the art, and learn a little about what occupied the building before you. Its seven floors contain a hotel, restaurants, bars and performance space. They do not operate as one attraction with one ticket or one age rule.

Start with a specific destination inside. It gives the visit a center and reduces the likelihood that your group spends the whole evening deciding which staircase was the correct staircase.

The ballroom’s history predates the restoration

McMenamins’ timeline records Red Rose Cotillion debutante balls in 1971 and 1972 and the Barony Ball in November 1975, followed by years of gay community events. Those entries are worth seeking out among the larger story of lodge, restaurant and theater uses.

The useful question is who made this building a gathering place at different times. Read the operator’s history as an attributed account, then look at the public spaces with those uses in mind. A restored room can hold more local history than its current menu suggests.

Yes, there is a hidden bar

The Vault is advertised by McMenamins as a secret to find. We will leave the directions to the staff and the discovery to you. Its practical conditions are less mysterious: 21 and over, first come, first served, no reservations, with hours separate from other parts of the property.

If you are coming for a Spanish Ballroom show, read that show’s door time, start time and age policy. A dinner plan does not reserve admission to the performance, and an all-ages show does not open the 21+ bar to children.

Our approach: pick either a show or a meal as the anchor, then add some looking around public areas. Ask staff about accessible routes or room access when needed. Hotel corridors and private events are not an invitation to explore. For a quieter companion stop, consider King’s Books during its daytime and early-evening hours.