Little Kids
LK
Elk
The Elks Club
"Y" head?
11?
22?
55
B.P.O.E.
Benevolent
Paternal /Protective
Order of
Elks
The Elks began in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers, called the "Jolly Corks".[3][a] It was established as a private club to elude New York City laws governing the opening hours of public taverns. The Elks borrowed rites and practices from Freemasonry.
The Elks' national headquarters are located in Chicago at the Elks National Veterans Memorial and Headquarters, overlooking Lincoln Park, near Lake Michigan. This building was originally conceived as a memorial to the nearly 1,000 Elk brothers who were lost in World War I. The cornerstone was laid July 7, 1924, and the building was officially dedicated on July 14, 1926.[25][26][third-party source needed]
The rotunda displays murals and statues illustrating the Elks' four cardinal virtues: charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity. The friezes depict the "Triumphs of War" on one side and "Triumphs of Peace" on the other. The entrance is flanked by large bronze elks.[27]