The Arroyo Grande IOOF Hall is an excellent example of a small town commercial building and fraternal hall built at the beginning of the 20th century.

The building stands out in Arroyo Grande for several reasons. The downtown commerical district is a mixture of older brick and modern store buildings, mostly one story in height. The IOOF Hall is two and one-half stories in height and built of stone, which visually distinguishes it from most Arroyo Grande commercial buildings.

The Odd Fellow's hall possesses nearly perfect architectural integrity, unlike its downtown relatives. It may be the most intact historic structure in Arroyo Grande.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1991.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) is an altruistic fraternal organization derived from the similar English Oddfellows service organizations which came into being during the 1700s....Although in Britain the Odd Fellows tended to meet in pubs, in the U.S. the lodges often built their own facilities. Many of these are now on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places....

From Wikipedia entry for Independent Order of Odd Fellows