First some backstory to this century old building and its one owner, but if you are anxious for the cache details, scroll to the bottom.
I love old buildings for their character and their history. The Clover Leaf Rebekah’s building where this cache takes you is not in short supply of either. But first a little about the Rebekah’s: The name Rebekah’s comes from the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies (originally Daughters of Rebekah) and is an international service-oriented organization and a branch of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In 1851 the Odd Fellows became the first fraternal association in the United States to include both men and women and the Rebekah’s was born.
Now about the building: The tale of this building starts a few blocks away. In the 1890s the first Odd Fellows Hall was built on Main Street. However, a bakery located in the hall started the Great Bothell Fire leading to the building’s demise. The new Clover Leaf Rebekah’s hall was built at its current location on 185th street in 1904. The inside would be considered standard at the time but seems grand to me now: 12 foot high ceilings, fir floors, and wide moldings along the floor and around doors and windows. The main hall upstairs contains a stage and originally had raised seating platforms along the sides, a doorbell and peep-hole for closed meetings. On the outside you are greeted by a large edifice and entry. If you go to the southeast side of the building, you will see a door almost two feet off the ground. While no longer in use, this inward opening door was used for easy entry off of a horse carriage.
While the Rebekah’s have owned the property for over 110 years, they have occasionally leased portions of the building to small business including a dress shop, a karate dojo and a church. The current business at the time of this cache posting, is a yoga studio whom, to bring this story full circle, moved into this space after the Great Downtown Bothell fire of 2016 destroyed their and 27 other businesses.
The cache located in front of this building is designed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Geocaching. It is also designed and placed to be the easiest of easies. If Geocaching headquarters had a rating of 0.5/0.5, this would have it. Pictures of the cache and spoilers are allowed.