Lock Haven Elks building for sale; bar portion shutting down

LOCK HAVEN, PA – The Lock Haven Elks Lodge is cutting back on its operations and the building is for sale.

Lock Haven Elks Lodge Exalted Ruler/manager Sherri Walison Wednesday confirmed reports that financial problems resulting from COVID-19 have forced the longtime E. Main Street mainstay to shut the club portion of the lodge, effective Friday, Oct. 29. The building has also been placed on the market for sale.

She told therecord-online the closure decision was “a tough one…that had to be made.” Walison said the matter was discussed at a trustees meeting on Monday and at a lodge membership meeting Tuesday night. She said occupancy restrictions as a result of COVID over the last year and a half cut back on use of the Elks’ second floor for special events, the Lodge’s primary source of income.

Walison said the Elks membership has been welcomed to provide input on the lodge’s future. She noted the lodge will continue to exist but the club portion is closing and there will be no future bookings for the building’s second floor beyond several already scheduled for November.

She also said the two-story building has been posted for sale and some prospective buyers have made visits. The building is posted with Mericle Commercial Real Estate with a listed price, as is, of $324,750.

The Elks building dates to 1854 and is of Greek Revival style. Historians call it the Simon Scott House. Scott was a native of Germany and an early dry goods merchant in Lock Haven, according to Historic Lock Haven, an Architectural Survey.