The Heart of Soul in Saratoga!

Through the decades, the Frederick Allen Lodge has represented the vibrant strength of our African American community. Frederick Allen Lodge #609, nicknamed the Black Elks Lodge, and its women’s auxiliary counterpart, the Mary A. Carter Temple #362, represent the thriving African American community that once surrounded the Congress Street entertainment and commerce hub. Skilled craftsmen, independent business owners, churches, stores, homeowners, and working-class people drawn to Saratoga to support the gambling and tourism industries filled the streets.

The Lodge is named after Frederick Joseph Allen, born in 1862, who was said to be “meticulous in his dress and his high-top boots.”  Mr. Allen, the first African American to work in the Saratoga Public Works Department, worked into his nineties as an electrician, a janitor, and a plumber — living until he was 104 years old! 

The building at 69 Beekman Street was built in 1845 as a house in the area's residential neighborhood. Since then, the site has been used for a variety of different purposes. In 1868, a mason named Henry Freeman took up residence in the building. Soon after, in 1900, Elmer Freeman established a meat and vegetable market inside. Around this time, the area was becoming more of a commercial district. In 1930, the building went from a market to a bakery. A few years later in 1934, the building was used for Fusco's Italian Restaurant, and it stayed that way until the 1960s.

The local I.B.P.O.E. of W. chapter purchased 69 Beekman Street following the 1966 fire that burned down the original Lodge on Congress Street. As Congress Street became less of an entertainment hub in the city, the Beekman Street location grew in popularity. The Frederick Allen Elks Lodge #609 still serves multiple purposes today, as they continue to host many charitable initiatives and to nurture a true sense of a vital and vibrant community for their members, neighbors, and fellow Saratogians!