Location Covington, Kentucky Architect Gedge & Bros. Opened 1856 | Built 1856 NRHP Reference # 80001646 Added to NRHP 11 August 1980 | |
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Similar Wendover, Mayor Andrew Broaddus, Old Bank of Louisville, Gene Snyder United St, Bank of the Commonwealth | ||
The Odd Fellows Hall in Covington, Kentucky is located at the northeast corner of Fifth Street and Madison Avenue. It was constructed in 1856 by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Lodge, and was the center of Covington's civic and political life for most of the Victorian era. When the American Civil War ended, victorious Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was honored with a reception there.
In 1900, the body of William Goebel, the only U.S. governor to be assassinated in office, lay in state there, as an estimated 10,000 people filed past.
In the 1950s, a roller skating rink filled the second-floor ballroom, famous for its 25-foot (7.6 m)-high ceiling suspended by a truss system.
In May 2002, a major fire almost destroyed the entire building. It was reduced to its front facade, back wall, and a three-story column of smoke and charred debris. A new team has restored the hall, with its first tenant taking occupancy in March 2006.