Highest bid stands at $27,250 for historic Charleroi Elks building
CHARLEROI – A woman won the top bid of $27,250 Tuesday for the historic Charleroi Elks building.
The identity of the woman and what she planned to do with the large building were not revealed following the live auction in the former clubhouse at 301 Fallowfield Ave.
“You’ll get your news later,” the woman said to a reporter after the bidding closed.
Three Elks trustees have until noon today to decide whether or not to accept the offer, said Sandy Brittingham of Rittenhouse Auction Co. in Vanderbilt.
One of the trustees, Stan Welsh, said he wished the top bid would have been $50,000.
“I’m not happy,” he said.
The Charleroi Elks Lodge 494 disbanded in August, partly because of dwindling membership.
It’s original members in 1901 included former Gov. John K. Tener and a member of the McKean family whose farm was sold off in lots to create Charleroi.
The club in the ornate building also gave rise to two grand exalted rulers of the national Elks organization, something that Welsh said was rare.
The woman started off the bidding at $1,100, and her only competition was from a man who indicated he wanted to turn the building into a Bible institute.
The two-story building, which opened in 1904, will be sold as is with no warranty, Brittingham said at the start of the auction.
“This has been a longstanding tradition in Charleroi,” she said.