Odd Fellows Building and Auditorium, Fraternal organization building in Sweet Auburn District, Atlanta, United States.
The Odd Fellows Building is a six-story brick structure on Auburn Avenue combining Tudor Revival details with a stone ground floor facing the street. The attached two-story auditorium with 1300 seats connected directly to the main building and provided space for performances, theater, and assemblies.
The Odd Fellows Building and Auditorium were built in 1912 and 1913 as the headquarters of District Grand Lodge No. 18 of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America. Architect William Augustus Edwards designed both redbrick structures, and Booker T. Washington dedicated the Tower in 1912. Benjamin Jefferson Davis Sr., editor of the Atlanta Independent, sat on the building committee and served as District Grand Secretary. Both buildings joined the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1975.
The Annex served for years as a movie house and was the only major Atlanta venue where Black patrons could sit on the main floor. The Tower's flat roof hosted dances for many years, and the building carried the name of Benjamin Jefferson Davis Sr., editor of the Atlanta Independent, the official organ of District No. 18.
The building sits within walking distance from downtown Atlanta and is easily reached along Auburn Avenue. Visitors should plan to view the exterior facade and explore the surrounding neighborhood, as interior spaces may not always be open to the public.
The Tower's flat roof hosted dances for years, an open-air use of a business block that passersby would not guess from the street. Booker T. Washington dedicated the Odd Fellows Building in 1912, the year the Tower went up; the Annex followed in 1913.
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