Dredge mining in the late 1890s brought new life to Virginia City and a dire need for modern office and meeting space. In 1896, town citizens voted to issue bonds to build a multipurpose City Hall with space for the city, law offices, and social clubs. Butte architect C. S. Germain designed the building, and contractor Floyd Closser completed construction. Most of the town attended the dedication and grand ball held on February 22, 1897. Originally, the building was red brick with a central, square tower capped by a pyramidal roof above the central door. Pairs of tall brick-arched windows flanked the tower on each story. Inside, the first-floor auditorium had a stage on the south wall and a balcony across the north wall. An ornate golden oak staircase led upstairs to various lodge rooms, six law offices, and a kitchen and dining hall. The city sold the building to the upstairs tenant, the Elks Lodge No. 390, in 1948. The Elks remodeled the façade in the 1950s. In 2019 it was still home to the Elks Club and often used for civic and social gatherings.
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