On April 11, 1876, San Francisco Elks Lodge, a social and philanthropic club, was formally instituted and has been the longest operating lodge in the U.S and is located in the heart of San Francisco’s Union Square.

The photograph above was made by R.J. Waters & Co. on December 10, 1908. It is the San Francisco Elks Annual Dance and Supper, where we are to be married, on the third floor of the Kensington Park Hotel.

This must have been a very special evening for the people in this photo, since San Francisco was still rebuilding itself after the catastrophic earthquake and fire of 1906, less than two years earlier.

Kensington Park Hotel is housed in a 1920s Moorish/Gothic building in San Francisco's Union Square area. It is a throwback to an era of hotels with grand marble lobbies, crystal chandeliers, and massive wood-paneled elevators with loveseats. The hotel, which takes up the first floor as well as floors five to 13, share the building with the San Francisco Elks Lodge, an old-time social and philanthropic club founded in 1876, the same organization that built the building in 1924.

Kensington Park Hotel has complimentary afternoon tea and sherry, served in their impressive lobby, with the painted ceilings, marble fireplace, cushy velvet club chairs, marble floors, and contemporary horse sculpture, that make for a classy way to unwind.

Located in Union Square, Kensington Park's neighborhood is filled with upscale retailers such as Hermes, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Bulgari, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales, just to name a few. Catch the cable cars, buses, trolleys, and BART trains nearby, or dine at one of the many restaurants.