Dechambeau Hotel and Bodie Main Street - August 25, 1962
IOOF Hall in center with DeChambeau Hotel on left and Miner's Union Hall on right in 1927
Photo by Burton Frasher - Pamona Public Library Collection
On the left above is the DeChambeau Hotel and in center the wooden building is the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) building. The Miners Union Hall is far right.
One of Bodie's few brick building, the DeChambeau Hotel is iconic on several levels. Built in the early 1870’s, the brick hotel is certainly one of the most recognized buildings of Bodie. Standing side by side with the IOOF building, these two share a common stairwell to the second floors. For the DeChambeau Hotel, the second floor is where eight rooms were rented and for the IOOF, it is where the members held their meetings and parties.
Downstairs of both have seen several renovations during their heyday. The lower level of the DeChambeau originally served as the post office. Later, as the population dwindled, the post office moved to a smaller building and the room was converted into the Bodie Cafe, a bar & cafe that was in business until the early 1930’s - one of Bodie’s last operating businesses.
When the DeChambeau family moved out, Sam Leon, long time Bodie business owner, moved in. Throughout the 1950s and early 60s, folks remember visiting Bodie and ordering up a sandwich, beer and maybe something more.....rumor has it that there were 'girls' working upstairs.
The IOOF building was constructed in 1880 by H. Ward, who used the first floor for his undertaking business. In later years, the IOOF building was used by the Bodie Athletic Club. Most of the town’s fraternal & town meetings were held here.
DeChambeau Hotel on left, Indepenent Order of Odd Fellows hall on right in 1972.
The IOOF building still has the white paint that was there when I was in 1962 and 1965.
by Dick Rowan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
DeChambeau Hotel and Independent Order 0f Odd Fellows Buildings 2012 by Carol M. Highsmith - Library of Congress
Main Street in 2020 - left to right - DeChambeau Hotel, IOOF Building, Miners Union Hall, Morque
Digitalwiz42, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
DeChambeau Hotel Cafe-Bar 2012
by Carol M. Highsmith - Library of Congress
Gate of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows building 1989
by Luis Bartolomé Marcos - , CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
