Allentown Masonic Temple

Last updated
Allentown Masonic Temple
2011 - Allentown Masonic Temple.jpg
Allentown Masonic Temple, October 2011
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Allentown Masonic Temple in Pennsylvania
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Allentown Masonic Temple (the United States)
Location1524 West Linden Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates 40°35′55″N75°29′25″W / 40.59861°N 75.49028°W / 40.59861; -75.49028
AreaLess than one acre
Built1923-1925
ArchitectSchmid, Richard G.; William & Gangrene & Co.
Architectural styleClassical Revival
NRHP reference No. 04000402 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 05, 2004

The Allentown Masonic Temple is an historic Masonic building located in the city of Allentown in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.

Contents

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. [1]

History and architectural features

In March 1920, Allentown's Morning Call newspaper reported that five hundred and fifty members of the Masonic fraternity had gathered on March 8 at the Odd Fellows' Hall in Allentown to launch a campaign to raise $400,000 to fund the construction of a new Masonic temple. The newspaper described the planned building as one that would be "dedicated to Almighty God and for the purpose of developing he highest standards of and character in the manhood of the city." [2]

In October 1921, the Morning Call announced that construction of the new temple would begin "very shortly," explaining that the building committee had chosen R. G. Schmidt of R. G. Schmidt & Company to serve as both the architect and contractor for the project, and adding that leaders of the Masonic fraternity in Allentown had just made their final payment on the land for the building's planned location at the corner of Fulton and Linden streets within the past week. [3]

Built between 1923 and 1925, this five-story structure made of limestone was erected on a reinforced concrete foundation, and was designed in the Neoclassical architectural style. [4] The cornerstone was laid on July 16, 1923 in a special ceremony presided over by Abraham M. Beitler, the grandmaster of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. By mid-1925, the estimated cost for construction was revised upward to a range of between $750,000 to more than $1,000,000. [5] [6]

The edifice measures ninety-seven feet, six inches wide and one hundred and fifty feet deep, and features elaborate stone and terra cotta trim, and four large and imposing fluted composite columns at its main entrance. [4]

In early 1928, General Harry Clay Trexler donated two thousand Masonic-related books to the Allentown Masonic Temple to create "the largest and most complete private Masonic library in the State" that was "to be excelled by few, if any, private libraries anywhere, not only as to the condition of the works, but also as to the nature of the volumes." [7] Trexler, who had been awarded the rank of general in the Pennsylvania National Guard during the Spanish–American War and World War I, and had become a prominent civic leader and industrialist, had achieved the rank of thirty-third degree Mason by the time of his death five years later. Newspapers at the time described him as having "an extensive knowledge of Masonic ideals." [8]

The temple adjacent to the Scottish Rite Cathedral was built in 1968. [4]

The Allentown Masonic Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Parkway</span>

Lehigh Parkway is a large, 629-acre public park along the Little Lehigh Creek in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the most prominent park in the city and follows the Little Lehigh Creek southward for three miles from center city Allentown to Cedar Crest Boulevard in neighboring Emmaus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scranton Cultural Center</span> United States historic place

The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is a theatre and cultural center in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The Cultural Center's mission statement is "to rejuvenate a national architectural structure as a regional center for arts, education and community activities appealing to all ages." The Cultural Center hosts national Broadway tours; professional and local musical and dramatic theatre offerings; local, regional and national orchestral and popular music, dance and opera; comedians, lecturers, art exhibits, a children's and performing arts academy and various classes as well as fundraiser galas and special events including proms, luncheons, private parties and is a popular wedding ceremony and reception venue. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Rite Temple (Guthrie, Oklahoma)</span> United States historic place

The Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, is a Masonic temple that serves as the home of the Scottish Rite in the Guthrie Valley, Oklahoma Orient, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. This is actually a complex consisting of two buildings on a 10 acres (40,000 m2) plot of ground on Oklahoma Avenue in downtown Guthrie that was originally named Capitol Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparta Masonic Temple</span> United States historic place

The Monroe County Museum is a historic building located in Sparta, Wisconsin. It was constructed in 1923 as a meeting hall for a local Masonic Lodge, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 under the historic name "Sparta Masonic Temple".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madison Masonic Temple (Madison, Wisconsin)</span> United States historic place

The Madison Masonic Temple is a masonic temple located in Madison, Wisconsin. Designed by Madison architects James R. and Edward J. Law in 1915 and redesigned after World War I in 1922, the temple was built during 1923 to 1925. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quakertown station</span> Historic train station

The Quakertown Passenger and Freight Station is a historic train station and freight depot located at Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The two buildings were designed by Wilson Bros. & Company in 1889 and built by Cramp and Co. for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in 1902. The passenger station is constructed of dark Rockhill granite and Indiana limestone and is in a Late Victorian style. It is 1+12 stories tall and measures 25 feet wide by 97 feet 6 inches, long. It has a hipped roof with an eight-foot overhang. The freight station is a 1+12-story, rectangular stone block building measuring 128 by 30 feet. Also on the property is a large crane that was used for freight movement. The Quakertown station had passenger rail service along the Bethlehem Line to Bethlehem and Philadelphia until July 27, 1981, when SEPTA ended service on all its intercity diesel-powered lines. SEPTA still owns the line and leases it to the East Penn Railroad. Other towns, stations, and landmarks on the Bethlehem Line are Perkasie, Pennsylvania, Perkasie Tunnel, and Perkasie station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedar Rapids Scottish Rite Temple</span> United States historic place

The Cedar Rapids Scottish Rite Temple, also known as the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, is a historic building located at 616 A Avenue, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as Consistory Building No. 2

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Order of United American Mechanics</span> American fraternal order

The Junior Order of United American Mechanics is an American fraternal order. It began as a youth affiliation of the Order of United American Mechanics, but seceded to become its own organization and eventually absorbed its parent order. Originally, it was an anti-Catholic, nativist group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Army of the Republic Building (Scranton, Pennsylvania)</span> United States historic place

The Grand Army of the Republic Building is an historic Grand Army of the Republic building, which is located in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Americus Hotel</span> United States historic place

Americus Hotel is an historic hotel, which is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Built between 1926 and 1927, it is a 13-story yellow brick building located 541 West Hamilton Street in Allentown's center city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dime Savings and Trust Company</span> United States historic place

The Dime Savings and Trust Company, also known as the First Valley Bank, is an historic bank building located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1925, and is a "T"-shaped, five-story red brick building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allentown National Bank</span> United States historic place

The Allentown National Bank, originally named the Allentown Bank, is an historic bank building located on Centre Square in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Built in 1905, the building is a large eight-story, steel frame and masonry-clad structure in the Beaux-Arts style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuweiler Brewery</span> United States historic place

The Neuweiler Brewery, also known as the Germania Brewery, is an historic brewery complex located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Built between 1911 and 1913, the complex consists of the office building, brew house, stock house, pump house, wash house, chemistry lab building, boiler room, bottling house, garage, fermenting cellar, and smokestack with the name "Neuweiler" on it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocono Manor Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Pocono Manor Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Pocono Township and Tobyhanna Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barre Downtown Historic District</span> Historic district in Vermont, United States

The Barre Downtown Historic District encompasses the historic commercial and civic heart of the city of Barre, Vermont. Extending along Main Street from City Park to Depot Square, this area was developed quite rapidly in the 1880s and 1890s, when the area experienced rapid growth due to the expansion of the nearby granite quarries. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kissling Farm</span> United States historic place

The Kissling Farm is a historic farm complex and national historic district located in Robesonia, Heidelberg Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty Hall (Quakertown, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Liberty Hall is an historic, American building that is located in Quakertown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Purchased by the borough of Quakertown in 1977, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgina Pope Yeatman</span> American architect (1902–1982)

Georgina Pope Yeatman was an American architect. In 1936, she became the first woman to serve as the director of architecture for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which, at that time, was the third largest city in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law, Law & Potter</span> American architect

Law, Law & Potter was an architecture firm in Madison, Wisconsin; Potter Lawson, Inc. is its modern-day successor. Some of its buildings are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places for their architecture. The firm was Madison's largest and "arguably most important" architectural firm in the 1920s and 1930s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Masons Enthusiastic for Big Campaign Which Opens Today." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, March 9, 1920, p. 5 (subscription required).
  3. "Magnificent Masonic Temple to Rise in the West End; Work of Construction Starts Soon." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, October 5, 1921, p.5 (subscription required).
  4. 1 2 3 "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania". CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2007-07-21. Retrieved 2012-12-29.Note: This includes Charles S. Canning (October 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Allentown Masonic Temple: Part 1" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-12-29., "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Allentown Masonic Temple: Part 2" (PDF)., "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Allentown Masonic Temple: Part 3" (PDF)., and "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Allentown Masonic Temple: Part 4" (PDF).
  5. "Allentown Masonic Temple to Be Occupied." Hazleton, Pennsylvania: The Plain Speaker, June 15, 1925, p. 10 (subscription required).
  6. "Allentown's Masonic Temple Will Cost Million Dollars." Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Scranton Times, July 17, 1923, p. 23 (subscription required).
  7. "Over the State." Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Sentinel, April 5, 1928, p. 7 (subscription required).
  8. "New York City Leaders in Politics, Civic Affairs and Masonry Pay Tribute to General H. C. Trexler." Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, November 23, 1933, p. 5 (subscription required).