Odd Fellows Hall (Covington, Kentucky)

Odd Fellows Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Covington, Kentucky
Coordinates	39°5′9.07″N 84°30′37.75″W
Built	1856
Architect	Gedge & Bros.
NRHP reference No.	80001646
Added to NRHP	August 11, 1980

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.

External links

• The Grand Banquet Hall
• Photos of the interior of the restored building
• "Odd Fellows Hall gets tenant". The Kentucky Post. E. W. Scripps Company. 2006-03-21. p. A4.
• Odd Fellows Hall rises from the ashes
• Odd Fellows fire a profound loss