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Raleigh: |
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Masonic Temple building lives on
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It served all Raleigh lodges from 1909 to 1951. It was the first reinforced concrete skyscraper in North Carolina. Architect Charles McMillan was hailed for innovative construction.
Raleigh’s first lodge had been organized in 1794, two years after the city was founded. Its first meeting hall was dedicated in 1813, but not until the next century would a movement begin to house local lodges and the NC Grand Lodge in one central structure.
Eventually the growth of Masonic membership, lack of parking space and the wish of lodges for autonomy brought about the sale of the seven-story temple building for commerce and as general office space. Today it remains useful and handsome at 133-135 Fayetteville Street Mall. It has been designated a Raleigh Historic Landmark.
The building is faced with Indiana limestone on its first two floors and light brick for the remaining five, ornamented with terracotta.
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Produced by the public relations committee of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Masons in North Carolina,
2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27628 MMVIII
Author/editor: Walter J. Klein wklein(at)carolina.rr.com
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