{"nrhp_refnum":"81000171","name":"Pythias Lodge Building","other_names":["Community Arts Complex","Intercultural Council of the Arts"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"211 E St. and 870 3rd Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.71447507900007,"lon":-117.162202004,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1981-04-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A five-story brick fraternal lodge and office building at the southwest corner of Third Avenue and E Street in downtown San Diego, California, built between June 1910 and February 1911 and designed by the Quayle Brothers for the Knights of Pythias.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is an outstanding example of a modified Beaux Arts style, designed by two of San Diego's most prominent architects. It is tied to the Knights of Pythias, a large and charitable fraternal order, and to San Diego's first commercial radio station, first broadcast in 1922. Distinctive features include interior glass-tile sidewalk grates and an open wire cage elevator.","narrative":"Built between June 1910 and February 1911, this five-story cream pressed brick building stands at Third Avenue and E Street in downtown San Diego. The Quayle Brothers designed it as a lodge hall for the Knights of Pythias, with shops and offices on the lower floors and a two-story main lodge room with a maple dance floor above. Its design shows a modified Beaux Arts influence, seen in arched windows with keystones, an enriched cornice and frieze, and a prominent attic story. Inside, glass-tile sidewalk grates bring light to the basement, and an open wire cage elevator still operates. The building also housed the Southern Electrical Company, whose owner built San Diego's first commercial radio station here, broadcasting from 1922. The Knights of Pythias lost the building in 1923, after which trade unions and community groups used it. At the time of listing it served as an arts complex, though nearby redevelopment threatened demolition.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Architect: Quayle Brothers, Charles and Edward Quayle. Builder: Gallagher Construction Company, general contractors; Charles H. Julian, plumbing and steam heating; Ayres and Steventon, electrical; Standard Iron Works, elevator enclosures and probably decorative metalwork.","architectural_style":"Modified Beaux Arts","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied at the time of nomination, housing theater, dance and visual arts groups on the upper floors and an art gallery on the ground floor. The form notes it was scheduled for demolition as part of a redevelopment project.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:32.294607-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/81000171.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860951","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythias_Lodge_Building_(San_Diego)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q945439"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/pythias-lodge-building-81000171/"}