San Francisco Secret Society: My New Office Inside the Lodge
My new office is in a historic former Odd Fellows lodge, a secret society’s building where the highest members once overlooked the gatherings below. It’s in the “Eagle’s Nest,” a once-open forum balcony now enclosed, perched at the building’s highest peak. The staircase winds upward, leading to the highest points of ascension.
The artist who manages the building offered me a deal that seemed almost too good to be true — until he revealed that while the building itself isn’t haunted, the surrounding area and the city are steeped in a dark, unsettling energy. It was as if he had a plan hidden away, something I could sense lingering in his mind, or maybe it was the building itself guiding his thoughts.
Sometimes, we drift through life unaware, until something inside us awakens at just the right moment. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a two-seater, driving to the Bay, knocking on a door we never knew existed — only to discover they’ve been waiting for us all along.
The building itself sits across the street from the SF Opera House, the birthplace of the United Nations, and the Orpheum Theater. I like to think of it as Gotham City, though that was modeled after New York.
San Francisco is a fascinating place, but as soon as you step outside, you’re confronted with streets littered with fentanyl. It’s heartbreaking — a city that should be beautiful has become terrifying to walk through. Yet, in its own way, it’s the perfect setting for my private office, where I’ll be holding exclusive events.
Reluctantly, I accepted the manager’s offer to establish my office at the top of the staircase, in the Eagle’s Nest, overlooking the world. Slowly, I blinked, absorbing the pervasive consciousness that envelops everything. I’ve included some pictures of the building and my new office.
We still have our primary locations, but I never quite fit in — I’m like a soft breeze, drifting and dissolving through spaces. Then, something magnetic draws me in, pulling me toward the unknown, as if it needs me just as much as I yearn to explore it.
The manager smiled and said, “The last person who occupied the Eagle’s Nest made puppets. Puppets! He’s been waiting a long time for another artist to fill the space — someone with a bit more talent.”
Let’s take a moment to talk about the space and the fraternal order that founded it. The Odd Fellows were a fascinating group — entrepreneurs with unconventional careers who banded together to form a fraternal order during medieval times. This lodge is the oldest in the West, built with wealth from the Gold Rush.
My office is just behind the three pillars, on the top floor of the building, with a trapdoor leading to the roof. I’m looking forward to seeing you there, my good friend.
From the trapdoor leading to the roof.
