The Elks Club Building is the second and former
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
house of the Manila Elks Lodge #761—Manila Lodge 761, better known as the Manila Elks Club, in
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
[Manilaelks.org: Manila Elks Club history]
/ref> It was designed by William E. Parsons.
The Manila Elks Lodge #761 is a unique branch club of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks—BPOE, an American fraternal order
A fraternal order is a fraternity organised as an order, with traits alluding to religious, chivalric or pseudo-chivalric orders, guilds, or secret societies. Contemporary fraternal orders typically have secular purposes, including social, cult ...
. It is one of only two Elks Club established outside of current United States territory
In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...
, the other being in Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
near the former American territory of the Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
,
History
The Manila Elks Club was founded after the Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
ended in 1898 which resulted in the transfer of the Spanish Philippines
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
control. In 1901, a group of Americans residing in Manila for the "unbridled entrepreneurial possibilities,"and "yearning for camaraderie and solidarity," petitioned the national Elks organization to allow the founding of an Elks Club on American soil in the Philippines. . The Grand Exalted Ruler of the Grand Lodge in the United States approved the petition in 1905.
The first clubhouse
Clubhouse may refer to:
Locations
* The meetinghouse of:
** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
** In the United States, a country club
** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club
* A ...
, formerly Clubhouse of the Order of the Elks, was established along Calle Victoria in Intramuros, Manila
Intramuros (Latin for "inside the walls") is the historic walled area within the city of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. It is administered by the Intramuros Administration with the help of the city government of Manila.
Present-day ...
. In 1904, it moved to Calle San Luis opposite the Old Luneta
Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area ...
.
Finally in 1910, it built its permanent home at the site that was used to be occupied by the Manila Overseas Press Club and now occupied by the Museo Pambata ng Maynila. Following the proposed Manila Plan of Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...
, the Elks Club was housed in a three-story building with features similar to the Manila Army and Navy Club co-located on the same piece of property. One building housed a civilian club and the other a military club. The original Manila Elks Club building, designed in the Mission Revival style modeled on the architecture of the California missions
The architecture of the California missions was influenced by several factors, those being the limitations in the construction materials that were on hand, an overall lack of skilled labor, and a desire on the part of the founding priests to emul ...
, opened in 1910 on the land purchased in the Luneta Park
Rizal Park ( fil, Liwasang Rizal, es, link=no, Parque Rizal), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area ...
extension, in the Ermita District of Manila.
After the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...
, ending the U.S. territorial Insular Government of the Philippine Islands
The Insular Government of the Philippine IslandsThis form of the name appeared in the titles of U.S. Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Admini ...
, this clubhouse housed the United States High Commissioner to the Philippines
The high commissioner to the Philippines was the personal representative of the president of the United States to the Commonwealth of the Philippines during the period 1935–1946. The office was created by the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 19 ...
and his staff from 1935 to 1940.
In 1942, during the World War II Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Japones sa Filipinas''; ja, 日本のフィリピン占領, Nihon no Firipin Senryō) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when Imperial Japan occupied the Commonwealth of the ...
, Japanese forces marched directly to the Elks Club and the adjacent Army and Navy Club, taking almost 100 residents from both clubs to be imprisoned in the Santo Tomas Internment Camp
Santo Tomas Internment Camp, also known as the Manila Internment Camp, was the largest of several camps in the Philippines in which the Japanese interned enemy civilians, mostly Americans, in World War II. The campus of the University of Santo To ...
.
This first Elks Club building was left in ruins by the war's end. It was later destroyed during the war, after which a two-story edifice was built by the Cojuangco family in February 1949.
In February 1949, the Elks Lodge #761 opened the newly rebuilt Manila Elks Club building on the site of the first, though on the renamed Dewey Boulevard. The Elks occupied this building until the 1960s. The building along Roxas Boulevard was later acquired by the Philippine government.
Elks Lodge #761 present-day
In the 1960s, because of issues of foreign ownership of the property, the Elks Lodge #761 (the Manila Elks Club) moved out of its second clubhouse to new facility in the Flag Village area of Makati, across from where the Rockwell Center
Rockwell Center is a high-end mixed-use area in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, named after James Rockwell, former President of Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company (Meralco). It is a project of Rockwell Land Corporation, which is owned ...
is today.
In 1977, the Elks Lodge #761 moved again, acquiring 1000 square meters of space on the 7th floor of the Corinthian Plaza building in central Makati
Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines.
Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...
, Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...
, where they are still located. It still is "the American Club in the Philippines".
Museo Pambata
The 1949 second Manila Elks Club building and its grounds, on renamed Roxas Boulevard
Roxas Boulevard is a popular waterfront promenade in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The boulevard, which runs along the shores of Manila Bay, is well known for its sunsets and stretch of coconut trees. The divided roadway has become a tradema ...
, now houses the Museo Pambata
The Museo Pambata () or the Children's Museum, is a children's museum in the Ermita district of Manila, near Rizal Park, in the Philippines. It is located in the former Elks Club Building, built in 1910, along Roxas Boulevard at the corner of ...
or the children's museum
Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feat ...
. The museum was founded by Dr. Estefania Aldaba-Lim
Estefanía Aldaba-Lim, Ph.D. (born Estefanía "Fanny" Aldaba; January 6, 1917 – March 7, 2006) was the first female secretary of any Cabinet of the Philippines, serving as Secretary of Social Services and Development from 1971 to 1977. She wa ...
in 1994, who was a Philippine presidential cabinet member, active in UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
), and founded the Institute of Human Relations at Philippine Women's University
The Philippine Women's University (PWU) is a tertiary education school which has its main campus in Manila, Philippines. An institution exclusive for girls from its inception until the 1970s, the PWU admits both women and men as its students.
...
.
See also
*History of the Philippines (1898–1946)
The history of the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 began with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, when the Philippines was still a colony of the Spanish East Indies, and concluded when the United States formally recognized ...
References
External links
* of the Manila Elks Club
{{coord, 14.57907, N, 120.97711, E, format=dms, display=title, region:PH_type:landmark
Elks buildings
Buildings and structures in Ermita
Organizations based in Metro Manila
Museums in Metro Manila
History of Manila
Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila
Buildings and structures completed in 1905
Mission Revival architecture
Children's museums
National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines
Child-related organizations in the Philippines
1905 establishments in the Philippines