The International Order of Odd Fellows Building is located at the main intersection of downtown Fremont, at Fremont Ave and Fremont Place/corner of North 35th Street. The building was designed by John T. Mattson and constructed in 1927. The cornerstone at 3509 Fremont indicates that it was dedicated on June 1, 1927, for the Fremont International Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization. It housed the Fremont Lodge No. 76, International Order of Odd Fellows. Prior to the construction of this brick building, the I.O.O.F. had a wood-frame building on this site that was built in 1891.
The Odd Fellows was a group which featured burial insurance, and they formerly owned the cemetery at the top of Queen Anne Hill, now called Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.
Like the Doric Lodge building which is adjacent just to the north, the Odd Fellows group planned that rental income from the retail storefronts would help support their organization, which met on the second floor. The interior includes an auditorium with a small stage that was used for meetings of the I.O.O.F., reached by the staircase at the 3509 Fremont entrance.
Auditorium Cleaners was a long-time street-level tenant, from 1930s to 1990s. At the time of the 1937 photo, Auditorium Cleaners was called “Auditorium Dye Works”.
Michael Peck bought the building from the I.O.O.F. in 1978. He was a tenant in the property at that time. He said the condition of the building was similar to how it is today, although he did some cleanup inside and out. However, after the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake, the parapet structure facing Fremont Place collapsed. This necessitated the rebuilding of walls, re-bricking, new windows and a steel marquee. Peck had these features restored in the style of the original.