Celebrating
‘City
of
Roses’
BLACK
HISTORY
MONTH
Volume XLVI • Number 6
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • February 8, 2017
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
photo by Z achary S enn /t he p ortland o bServer
Louis McLemore is recruiting new members to increase the life and vitality of the Billy Webb Elks Lodge, a historic community space at 6 N. Tillamook St. born from
Portland’s segregated past and a key social landmark for the black community today.
Promoting a bright
future for Billy
Webb Elks Lodge
by Z achary S enn
t he p ortland o bServer
A historic center of Portland’s black
community is seeking recognition and
revitalization this year. The Billy Webb
Elks Lodge has embarked on a member-
ship drive to bring new life to the longtime
community space that was born from Port-
land’s segregated past and is a key social
landmark today. Work also is underway to
add the building to the National Register of
Historic Places.
Resilience
and
Triumph
Located at 6 N. Tillamook St., the lodge
was originally constructed by the YWCA
in 1926 to reach out to Portland’s black
community. People referred to it at the
time as the “Williams Avenue branch” or
the “Colored YWCA.” The building was
also used by the Portland NAACP, the
Congress for Racial Equality, and the Ur-
ban League of Portland.
Black Elks took over the site in the
1940s and named it after Billy Webb, one
of the great jazz musicians of his day.
“He played here in Portland, and on
steam ships on the West Coast,”” said Lou-
is McLemore, the current exalted ruler for
the social club. A member of the lodge for
the past six years, McLemore is leading a
campaign to make sure the building will
serve the black community for future gen-
erations.
Raymond Burell, a Portland native who
has dedicated his time to preserving a his-
torical record of the city’s black commu-
nity, is working to place the lodge on the
historic register, like he helped accomplish
last year for the nearby Vancouver Avenue
First Baptist Church.
Given the rapidly gentrifying nature
c ontinued on p age 6