Philadelphia Lodge No. 2 BPOE (1925)

The Philadelphia Lodge No. 2 BPOE, also known as the Philadelphia Athletic Club, was a historic American Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks lodge that occupied 306-320 North Broad Street in the Logan Square neighborhood of Center City Philadelphia.

History and notable features

This lodge, built between 1922 and 1925, was a thirteen-story building. The BPOE moved into the new lodge from the four-story building located at 1320–1322 Arch Street, built between 1904 and 1906, and designed by Francis Caldwell and Edward Simon, that still stands.
The Elks occupied the bottom five floors, with residential/hotel accommodations in the higher eight floors. The lower floors included meeting rooms, restaurants, ballrooms, and auditoria. The entrance featured a two-storey portal framed in limestone and capped by a giant keystone.
The Philadelphia Sphas basketball team played many of their home games at the Broadwood Hotel. Saturday night games would be followed by a dance with a live band.
Although being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the building was purchased by Hahnemann University for $2.35 million in 1991 and was demolished the following year. It was removed from the National Register in 2023.