B. P. O. E. Building, Beaux-Arts fraternal organization building in Bellingham, Washington.

The B. P. O. E. Building is a three-story Beaux-Arts lodge at Cornwall Avenue and Dock Street in Bellingham, Washington. Its facade is pressed cream-colored brick with terra-cotta trim, and the ground floor sits about five feet above the sidewalk. Architect William Cox modeled it on other Elks lodges in the state.

Bellingham Bay Lodge #542 of the Elks was instituted on February 10, 1900, with twenty members. After meeting in the Masonic Hall and then the Rice Block, the lodge bought a lot on Dock Street for $10,000 in February 1912 and hired architect William Cox. Construction began in June 1912, the cornerstone was laid on September 1 with ex-governor Albert E. Mead speaking, and the building was dedicated on March 25, 1913. The Elks sold it in 1971.

The Elks raised funds for the building through minstrel shows staged by members, and bonds were sold only to lodge members. The cornerstone was laid on September 1, 1912, with ex-governor Albert E. Mead speaking and the Elks quartet singing "Auld Lang Syne". The lodge was formally dedicated on March 25, 1913, with nearly 1,000 Elks from lodges statewide attending.

The building stands on Cornwall Avenue, historically Dock Street, across from the old Federal Building. Visitors on foot reach it from the downtown core; the pressed cream brick facade and terra cotta trim face the street. The former Elks Club marquee is gone, so look for the 1912 block itself.

The Elks funded their 1912 lodge partly through minstrel shows staged by members, and bonds were sold only to lodge members. The cornerstone was laid on September 1, 1912, with ex-governor Albert E. Mead speaking and the Elks quartet singing "Auld Lang Syne".