Elks National Home
English Meadows Elks Home is a retirement home and national historic district located at Bedford, Virginia. It was built in 1916 by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, who first started the home in 1903. The Elks National Home historic district includes 23 contributing buildings, 3 contributing sites, 1 contributing structure, and 2 contributing objects.
The Elks Home is popular locally for the large display of Christmas decorations it puts up each year. Visitors enter the driveway in their vehicles and slowly proceed through the displays, which line the driveway, free of charge.
The Elks Home was featured briefly in the 1991 film What About Bob?, where it stands in as a mental institution.
Its property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
In 2013, the Elks National Home property was sold to New River Assisted Living for $4.5 million. The name of the property was changed to English Meadows Elks Home.
Elks National Home and Retirement Center is the name of a nonprofit organization with 501 status that formerly owned the Elks National Home property. The nonprofit organization has discontinued operations as of 2019, and its continuing source of revenue are the bequests of an orgoing trust, and the nonprofit organization intends to discontinue operations as soon as practical.
