Historic Bath House and Oddfellows Hall (1907)

Historic Bath House and Oddfellows Hall (1907). 825 First Avenue. , Over one hundred years ago, this narrow, period building began as the "First Avenue Bath House and Health Clinic." Originally constructed of bare boards, this two-story building fronted First Avenue and the Chena River, tapering to one story for the Health Clinic, and tapering further to a shed attached to the rear that housed the necessary hot water boiler. Cora Madole, also known as Madame Renio, had contracted the construction and was the proprietor. She was a U.S. citizen who joined the Gold Rush to Dawson and earned her living there as a fortune teller and seamstress. As the Gold Rush faded in Dawson, she came to Fairbanks in 1903, keeping her previous occupations and adding the bath house business. Two apartments were also integral to the building: Mrs. Madole's upstairs on the second story, and an apartment next to the Health Clinic downstairs for her business partner "Doc" Overgard. "Doc"-and it's doubtful he was a credentialed physician-used the Health Clinic to sober up miners who had come to town and celebrated too hard. He also extended his services to anyone else who so desired. In 1909-1910, a harsh winter froze the pipes, damaging the boiler and ending the businesses housed there., The Oddfellows bought the Hall in 1910. Fraternal organizations were a social necessity for the often single, or at least temporarily single, miners and others who lived in the Fairbanks area and on the nearby gold-producing creeks. Among this fraternal organization's activities were meetings, social get-togethers, community celebrations such as dances and dinners, the sheltering of disaster victims on a temporary basis, and even church services. The Golden North Rebekahs, a sister group of the Oddfellows, received ownership of the building in 1963 and continued many of the same activities until 2007. Recently this historic hall has continued its commercial and fraternal functions as a community folk museum and an antique store., [Photo caption reads] Historic Bath House and Oddfellows' Hall, 2011. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , This property , has been placed on the , National Register , of Historic Places , by the United States , Department of the Interior.