The Windrow Story

Lodge 1102

The Roaring 20's were a decade of prosperity, innovation, and celebration across the nation, and Washington State was no different. In 1923, Ellensburg residents and members of the newly formed Lodge 1102 unveiled the new Grand Lodge at 5th and Main in downtown Ellensburg. Akin to the New York skyscrapers of the era, the steel beams and riveted trusses were the framework of the building, with a brick façade lining the classic exterior. A natural elegance accompanied the space with a second-floor grand ballroom, inviting 12-foot-tall windows for natural light and connection to bustling Main Street, adorned with a 3-foot-stained glass star embedded in the ceiling.

For the next 80 years, this building served as the gathering place for the entire Kittitas Valley and beyond. If you were celebrating a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, or any other event, it was likely you would end up at the Elks Building.

Local Pride

During this time of uncertainty and newly granted opportunity for the 1920s structure, the building caught the eye of Rory Turner, a historic building specialist from Wenatchee who remembered it fondly from tending bar there in 1976. While others were ready to demolish it, Rory took an optimistic view of its potential and developed a vision to bring it back to its previous grandeur. Rolling up his sleeves with the hard work and financial support of family and friends, the building was carefully restored in 2016. Awards were received for Outstanding Historic Building Rehabilitation and Excellence on Main. Happy tenants replaced the dust and neglect, renewed local pride, and life was brought back to the grand ballroom.

Heart of Downtown

With a new hotel came celebrations of tradition. The property's name is a nod to our town's original hay farmers and founders. Central Washington hay farmers labor over fields throughout the growing season, then cut their crops into long "windrows" laid down perpendicular to the wind to dry. These rows force the hay into a period of "rest." Like a windrow, we, too, need crucial times of rest. Hotel Windrow's mission, inspired by its namesake, is to provide a "critical time of rest" with comfortable guest rooms and relaxed gathering spaces. 

Hotel Windrow opened in January 2020, and the group was committed to the hotel's long-term success and the surrounding community of downtown Ellensburg. Today, Hotel Windrow and the Elks Building once again stand as the heart of downtown Ellensburg, where future generations once again celebrate their most memorable occasions with the full expectation that will be the case for at least another 100 years.