PORT ANGELES — Plans for reconstructing the fire-damaged Elks Naval Lodge are continuing on track.
Building plans were submitted to City Hall on Wednesday for approval, and demolition inside the landmark lodge building has already started, Elks board member and project manager Ron Johnson said.
Next week, a sprinkler installer will begin putting a fire sprinkler system into the building.
Work under a contract of more than $800,000 with Hoch Construction began last month and is expected to take five months to complete.
The five-story Elks Naval Lodge, which opened in 1927 and is downtown’s tallest building, was heavily damaged in a December electrical fire that started in the ground-floor Camera Corner photography shop.
The blaze destroyed Camera Corner and neighboring @Play Internet Cafe, caused some structural damage to the Elks pool room above the camera shop, and polluted the entire building with smoke.
All but the lodge’s front office has been unusable since then.
The Elks have been meeting in a storefront on the Lincoln Street side of the building.
