Mtn. Review Special Edition Late Summer 2020 | Page 9

Fraternal Organizations, continued:
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows – Mountain View
Lodge #244 is located at the corner of Castro and Villa
streets in a 1909 building that was originally a First National
Bank branch and whose facade once sported grand, twostory
columns (see photo on right). The Odd Fellows in 1970
purchased the building, which to this day retains much of its
original look inside and out. The lodge holds regular public
events that encourage fledgling writers and hosts genderdiverse
groups, as well as crafts fairs that support Rebeka
Children’s Services and an annual Halloween haunted house.
For more information, see: https://bit.ly/3dya8dw .
I.O.O.F’s first home in Mtn. View was the circa
1876 Enterprise Hall on El Camino Real (left).
Later, the I.O.O.F. was located in the circa 1906
Mockbee Building on Castro Street (above).
SFV Holy Ghost festa in 1953. (Credit: Madeline Borges)
What locals commonly refer to
as the Portuguese Hall on Villa
Street near Calderon Avenue is
actually a complex of Sociedade
de Festa Velha (SFV)–owned
buildings. The SFV shares its
origins with Mountain View’s
other Portuguese fraternal
organization, the Irmandade da
Festa do Espírito Santo (IFES),
on Stierlin Road. Both SFV and
IFES trace their founding to a
traditional Portuguese “Festa
do Espírito Santo” celebration,
IFES Members in 1937 (Credit: IFES) first held in Mountain View
in 1926, at the John and Jose
Ferreira Costa dairy on Charleston Road. The Spanish Eclectic
–style SFV complex was built in 1937—before Villa Street was
even extended to run in front of it. The SFV facilities include
a banquet hall, dance hall, kitchen, and chapel. The halls are
rented for weddings and other events, as well as being used
for SFV’s own fundraising dinners that support disaster-relief
programs and building churches. For more information, see:
https://bit.ly/2xWOXmm .
This circa 1925 photo shows the Rotary Club’s sign projecting from the
columns of the First National Bank Building on Castro Street. The building
has been home to the I.O.O.F. since the 1970s.
The Rotary Club of Mountain View, chartered in
1924, is part of a worldwide organization supporting
educational, cultural, and humanitarian projects locally
and internationally. Like the Kiwanis, the Rotarians don’t
operate out of their own building in Old Mountain View
but instead meet at the Historic Adobe Building, on
Moffett Boulevard, at which speakers from diverse civic,
political, and business backgrounds give presentations to
members and guests. More information on the Rotarians
can be found here: https://bit.ly/3coh1hr .
The process of joining these fraternal organizations
varies; some organizations have straightforward
applications, whereas others require referrals by
members. Applicants are screened before being accepted,
and each organization has some form of membership fees.
It’s recommended that anyone interested in joining one of
these organizations contact them directly.
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