Masonic Hall Grand Lodge (New York City, New York)

 theatre, freemason / masonic temple, high-rise, interesting place, 1909_construction, Beaux-Arts (architecture)

292-foot, 18-story Beaux-Arts office and lodge building completed in 1909. Designed by Harry P. Knowles with an interior by Pottier & Stymus and murals by Chas. Snell Allen, it was built as an addition to the original masonic lodge on 23rd Street (which was later replaced by the current Masonic Building at 73 West 23rd Street).

The Order of Freemasons is a fraternal and philanthropic group whose members see themselves as the spiritual heirs of the craftsmen responsible for the architectural monuments of the ancient and medieval worlds. The building's architect, Harry Knowles, was an active member and became a master mason in 1896. It contains an assembly hall that can accommodate 900 people with an additional 300 in its gallery. The Grand Lodge held its first convention in the new Hall in 1910.

The building is sheathed in limestone, granite and patterned red brick. The grandiose 5-bay stone base is comprised of a 2-story lower half and a 2-story upper half which corresponds to the level of the assembly hall. The lower half is a deeply coursed wall with a central entrance; the bracketed door enframement surrounds a segmental-arched opening (brass-and-glass doors and canopy are recent additions) and supports a cartouche with the fraternal shield. These are all detailed with gold leaf. The ensemble is flanked by historic cast-bronze bracket lamps. The four side bays have segmental-arched openings with fixed-pane windows with transoms. The westernmost bay, with a metal ventilating grille replacing the glass, is lengthened to encompass paired metal service doors. On the 2nd floor, at each bay, is a pair of slender openings with casement windows. A dentiled cornice with a circular motif surmounts the lower half of the base.

The upper half of the base, a coursed surface, has end bays each composed of a tall, bracketed window surround with curved pediment. Above, a square molded opening contains a fixed pane window. The three central bays, separated by festooned pilasters, are recessed and crowned with consoles and bundled laurel within each bay; panning divides each opening into two stories of wide central windows, flanked by narrower side windows, all capped by transoms. Superimposed on the spandrel is a pediment on brackets. The upper story has fixed-pane windows. All five bays are fronted by stone balustrades. The upper half of the base is surmounted by a modillioned entablature, bearing the words "MASONIC HALL."

The 9-story midsection, which reads as five floors, continues the coursed stone surface in the flanking end bays. The slightly recessed central portion is covered by red brick superimposed by a raised diamond pattern in brown brick with buff brick diamonds located between the window levels. On the lowest story of this section, one-over-one windows with transoms are framed by bracketed surrounds which support cartouches or overpanels. The central bay contains three fixed panes separated by decorative panning and surmounted by segmental-arched transoms. The floors above, with six windows each (due to the central bay's division into two windows), contain one-over-one windows with molded stone surrounds and sills. The top floor of this section also features a stone terra-cotta balcony on brackets. A transitional story, in coursed stone, has paired windows in the central section and single windows in the end bays; each bay is flanked by garlanded crests.

The 4-story top section has three central segmental-arched openings which accommodate a 2-story window arrangement like that of the base. This ensemble is flanked by end bays with one window per floor; the lower window opening is arched and has a heavy enframement. The 3rd floor of the top section contains single-window end bays and paired windows in the center section, all flanked by festooned pendants. A modillioned cornice decorated with lions' heads is located near the roof. The simple attic level repeats the fenestration pattern of the floor below.

The exposed western elevation is a simple brown brick wall with stone returns, and a light well and a few windows at the upper portion. The outline of a building which once stood on the lot to the west is visible on the lower portion of the wall.

untappedcities.com/2014/10/15/a-look-inside-manhattans-...
usmodernist.org/AM/AM-1909-0715.pdf