The first Masonic Hall was a Gothic style building located in lower Manhattan, constructed in 1826. The second Masonic Hall was built in 1875 and designed by Napoleon LeBrun and constructed in the Second French Empire Style. The current building was constructed in 1911 to replace the previous Masonic Hall located on the same site.
History
First Masonic Hall (1826-1856) located on Broadway between Reade and Pearl Streets, today the location of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building.
First Masonic Hall (1826-1856)
Early masonic meetings and meetings of the Grand Lodge of New York were likely held at taverns as well as an early iteration of Tammany Hall. On June 24, 1826, St. John's Day, the cornerstone was laid for a Gothic style Masonic Hall on Broadway in lower Manhattan between Reade and Pearl Streets, directly across from the original site of the New York Hospital, and today the location of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building.[2] The original cost of the building was $50,000 or approximately $1.5 million today. The main hall was designed to imitate the chapel of Henry VII at Westminister Abbey.[3] In addition, the building would hold, what was at the time, the largest bowling alley in the world.[4] This would serve as the home of the Grand Lodge until the building was demolished in 1856.[5]
After the demolition of the first Masonic Hall, Masons would meet in rented spaces and other Masonic lodge halls in Manhattan. One of these, at 115th East 13th Street, would be the site of the first meeting of the Shriners on September 26, 1872.[6] In addition, this Order of the True Fenians would meet at this Masonic hall.[7] In other years, like the grand lodge sessions of 1870, the grand lodge met at Apollo Hall on Clinton Street.[8]
Second Masonic Hall (1875-1911)
Second Masonic Hall (1875-1911) Photo taken from 23rd Street
Due to infighting in the Grand Lodge, the Panic of 1857, and the American Civil War, it would not be until the mid-1870s that the Grand Lodge would again have a permanent meeting location. On June 8, 1870,[9] the cornerstone was laid for a new Second French Empire Style building which served as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge from 1875 to 1909. This building was designed by Napoleon LeBrun and due to the Panic of 1873 would take four years to complete, at the staggering cost of $1.279 million.[10] Construction was completed in late 1874, with the formal dedicated on June 2, 1875.[11][12]
Although intended to generate financial profit for the Grand Lodge, the building "did not meet financial expectations."[13] In fact, by 1905, some 30 years later, the building had only returned approximately 2 percent of the initial investment. In addition, by the turn of the 20th Century, the Second Empire style was already considered outdated and coupled with rising New York City real estate prices, the building was replaced with the current and more modern skyscraper.
Third Masonic Hall (1909-Present)
Masonic Hall from 24th Street
The current Grand Lodge building opened in 1909,[13] on the same block, but slightly north of the 1875 building. St. John's Lodge held the first meeting in the new building on September 8, 1909, using the George Washington Bible and presenting a Master Mason degree that evening.[14]
At the time, the building caused some controversy, and Past Grand Master James Ten Eyck resigned as a trustee of the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund in an effort to convince the then sitting Grand Master Townsend Scudder that the construction of the new building would be unwise.[15]
This building was designed by Harry P. Knowles, one of the architects of the New York City Center.[16] It actually consists of two interconnected buildings, one whose construction began in 1907 facing 24th Street, and the other, completed in 1913, on the corner of 23rd Street and 6th Avenue.
The construction proceeded in two phases. First the 24th Street building was built. When it opened in 1909, the older 1875 Masonic Hall was demolished and replaced by the current office building on 23rd Street that opened in 1913.[17] The 23rd Street building is the larger of the two and is primarily a commercial office building, with rents generating funds for the Grand Lodge's charitable activities and the upkeep of the 24th Street building. The 24th Street building is approximately one-half as large,[13] and consists primarily of lodge meeting rooms, including the 1200-seat Grand Lodge Room, all elaborately ornamented. The lodge rooms are decorated and named after a variety of architectural styles including Corinthian, Doric, Egyptian, Gothic, Ionic, Jacobean, and Renaissance.[18]
The Hall's interior was restored and underwent a $15 million renovation[13] from 1986 to 1996 by Felix Chavez and his company Fine Art Decorating.[19][20]
The Livingston Library is housed on the 14th floor of the building and is one of relatively few large libraries of Freemasonry books and materials. It is named after ChancellorRobert R. Livingston (1746-1813), one of the earliest Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of New York.
The Grand Lodge Room in the Masonic Hall
In popular culture
Due to its acoustical properties, tracking for Joe Jackson's 1984 album Body and Soul was completed in the building's Grand Lodge Room.
In 2017, comedian Jerrod Carmichael's second stand-up comedy special, 8, directed by Bo Burnham, was also filmed in the Grand Lodge Room.[21]
Other Masonic buildings in Manhattan
Today, Masonic Hall, where all Grand Lodge of New York lodges in Manhattan meet, and the Prince Hall Masonic Temple located at 155th Street,[22] are the only buildings in Manhattan used for Masonic purposes. However, this was not always the case and is likely a consequence of the high property taxes in New York City.
One former Masonic lodge building at 15th Street, home to a number of German-speaking Masonic lodges, is now in use by Friend's Seminary.[23]New York City Center, was built for the Mecca Shriners, and served as their home from 1924 to 1940, when it was sold.
The Liz Christy Bowery Houston Garden, started in 1973, is the first and oldest community garden in New York City. Located at the corner of the Bowery and Houston Street in Manhattan and running across to 2nd Avenue, it is now a part of New York City Parks Department.
East Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan which abuts the East River and faces Brooklyn and Queens. Fifth Avenue, Central Park from 59th to 110th streets, and Broadway below 8th Street separate it from the West Side.
The West Side of Manhattan refers to the side of Manhattan Island that abuts the Hudson River and faces the U.S. state of New Jersey. The West Side is home to several famed New York City locations, including Fifth Avenue, Central Park, and lower Broadway. The major neighborhoods on the West Side are Inwood, Hudson Heights, Washington Heights, West Harlem, Morningside Heights, Manhattan Valley, the Upper West Side, Hell's Kitchen, Chelsea, the West Village, SoHo, and Tribeca. The 8th Avenue and West Side subway lines connect all parts of the West Side.
Sherman Square is a pocket park bounded by Broadway, Amsterdam Avenue, and West 70th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City. It was named in 1891 for William Tecumseh Sherman who lived in the area and died that year.
Mulry Square is a triangular parking lot at the southwest corner of Greenwich Avenue and Seventh Avenue South in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City. It was once thought to be the site of a wedge-shaped diner that was the inspiration for Edward Hopper's famous painting Nighthawks. The parking lot's fencing supports Tiles for America, a September 11 memorial consisting of some 6,000 tiles created across the country.
St. Mark's Historic District is a historic district located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The district was designated a city landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1969, and it was extended in 1984 to include two more buildings on East 10th Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and was expanded in 1985. The boundaries of the NRHP district and its expansion are now coterminous with those of the LPC.
The Madison Square North Historic District is in Manhattan, New York City, and was created on June 26, 2001, by the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The Lamartine Place Historic District is a small historic district located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on October 13, 2009, and includes twelve mid-19th century rowhouses on the north side of West 29th Street from number 333 on the east end to number 355 on the west end.
The East 17th Street/Irving Place Historic District is a small historic district located primarily on East 17th Street between Union Square East and Irving Place in the Union Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on June 30, 1988, and encompasses nine mid-19th century rowhouses and apartment buildings on the south side of East 17th Street, from number 104 to number 122, plus one additional building at 47 Irving Place just south of 17th Street.
Gorman Park is a 1.89-acre (0.76 ha) park in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by Broadway on the west and Wadsworth Terrace on the east, lying between 188th and 190th Streets.
The Minnesota Strip is an archaic name for an area in Manhattan comprising Eighth Avenue between 42nd Street and 57th Street. It is now part of Hell's Kitchen.
The East 10th Street Historic District is a small historic district located in the Alphabet City area of the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It includes all 26 buildings, numbered 293 to 345, on East 10th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B, across from Tompkins Square Park. The district was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on January 17, 2012.
Little Brazil is a small neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City that is centered on the single block of West 46th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. In the 1960s, the street was home to dozens of Brazilian commercial enterprises and Brazilian restaurants, although only a handful remain in the 2000s. It is demarcated by signs between Fifth Avenue and Seventh Avenue, along 46th Street, and several vendors display the green and yellow colors of the Brazilian flag.
Muscota Marsh is a one-acre public park in the Inwood section of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, on the shore of Spuyten Duyvil Creek, a section of the Harlem River. It is adjacent to the much larger Inwood Hill Park and Columbia University's Baker Athletics Complex. The park is notable for its views and for its ecological conservation features.
Columbus Park formerly known as Mulberry Bend Park, Five Points Park and Paradise Park, is a public park in Chinatown, Manhattan, in New York City that was built in 1897.
Sir Winston Churchill Square, at the southwest corner of Bleecker Street, Downing Street, and Sixth Avenue, is a .05-acre (0.020 ha) garden and sitting area in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Father Demo Square is a 0.25-acre (0.10-hectare) triangular park and piazza bounded by Sixth Avenue, Bleecker Street, and Carmine Street in the South Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The park is named for Father Antonio Demo, who was the pastor of the neighboring Our Lady of Pompeii Church from 1897 to 1935. The church was relocated to Carmine Street in 1926–1928 to accommodate an extension of Sixth Avenue south of Bleecker Street, which created the triangular plot of land. The park, located opposite Carmine Street from the church, was established in 1923 with the Sixth Avenue extension and the land was improved as a park, being named in a tribute to Demo.
The West Chelsea Historic District is a portion of the neighborhood of Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City. It was designated as the city's 92nd historic district in July 2008 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Theatre Alley is a block-long cobblestone alley in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, between Ann and Beekman Streets. It is one of Manhattan's few alleys that is not privately owned, and prior to the expansion of 5 Beekman Street adjacent to the alley c. 2010, it was "dank and claustrophobic".
Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park is a green space in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The park is sited on landfill from the World Trade Center site and opened in 1996. It was designed by a partnership of Rodolfo Machado, Jorge Silvetti, Hannah/Olin, and Lynden B. Miller. The park is named after Robert F. Wagner Jr., who helped negotiate the 1979 master plan for Battery Park City before his sudden death in 1993. The park is just north of City Pier A at the southern end of Manhattan.
Manhattan is the most popular city in New York City. This diverse city is made up of 64 Neighborhoods and 4 primary sections. Manhattan, originality named ‘Mannahatta’ was inhabited by the Lenape people. Later in 1664 the British took control of the colony and named it New York. The city is made ups of 4 primary sectors Downtown, Midtown, Uptown, and Harlem and The Heights. The areas south of 14th Street are considered part of Downtown. Midtown extends from 14th Street to the southern border of Central Park at 59th Street. Uptown is 60th to 116th Streets and north of 116th is considered Harlem.[1] In these 4 primary sections are 64 neighborhoods including; Alphabet City, Battery Park City, Bloomingdale District, Bowery, Carnegie Hill, Central Park, Chelsea, Chinatown, Civic Center, East Harlem, East Village, Financial District, Fort George, Garment District, Governors Island, Gramercy, Greenwich Village, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen (Clinton), The Highline, Hudson Heights, Hudson Square, Hudson Yards, Inwood, Kips Bay, Lenox Hill, Lincoln Square, Little Italy/Nolita, Lower East Side, Manhattan Valley, Manhattanville, Marble Hill, Meatpacking District, Metropolitan Hill, Midtown, Midtown East, Midtown South, Morningside heights, Murray Hill, Noho, Nomad, Randall’s Island, Roosevelt Island, Rose Hill, Soho, South Street Seaport, Spanish Harlem (El Barrio), Stuyvesant Town, Sugar Hill, Sutton Place, Theater District (Times Square), Tribeca, Tudor City, Turtle Bay, Two Bridges, Union Square, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Washington Heights, West Village, World Trade Center, and Yorkville.[2]
Downtown Manhattan are known as the areas below 14th Street and commonly well known as the business hub of New York. This includes some well known areas like Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bride entrance, Financial District, World Trade Center cite, and historic Seaport District. This was the original start of the city back in 1624 and is the southern part of the island. This is the oldest part of the city with arrays of architecture, soaring skyscrapers, and historical areas.[3] The NYTimes has a walking tour of this area that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-LM.html
Midtown Manhattan, the tourist hub of the city, is filled with everything that makes the city what it is. This section is known as the areas between 14th street and the south boarder of Central Park on 59th street. In 1807 the city planners of the city began to create a grid system and was finalized 4 years later for the plans to create Midtown Manhattan. Some famous landmarks/areas in Midtown include; Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), Empire State Building, Bryant Park, Times Square, Madison Square Garden, and Carnegie Hall.[4] The NYTimes has a walking tour of this area that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-MID.html?scp=1&sq=Magnificent%2520Tree&st=cse
Uptown Manhattan is located from the south end of Central Park to to not most point of it spanning across 60th street to 116th street. This specific area of Manhattan is one of the most sought after places to reside in with neighborhoods such as the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side. Along the east side of the island is also a small island, Roosevelt Island, commonly used in the 19th century for prisons, institutions, and rehabilitation.[5] The NYTimes has a walking tour of the Upper West Side that can be found here: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/travel/TOUR-WS.html?ref=untapped-new-york.ghost.io
Harlem and The Heights are all of the neighborhoods in Manhattan above 116th street. Harlem is known internationally as the Black Mecca of the world, but has been home to the Dutch, Irish, German, Italian, and Jewish. This was originally farmland when it was first settled back in 1658 and undeveloped for about 200 years. The IRT subway line was finished in 1904 and people assumed this would make Harlem desirable to relocate to. With such easy access to the city, many developers built apartments and home anticipating the move from lower to upper Manhattan. Unfortunately, this was an over speculations and most places were left unsold. A real estate agent, Philip A. Payton, approach many of the landlords with proposition to have black families move into these home, eventually creating ‘Black Harlem’ in the early 1900’s. During this time the Harlem boomed with culture and artistic expression also known as the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ in the 1920’s.[6] Here is a short walk through of Harlem from the NYTimes: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/20/arts/design/harlem-virtual-tour.html
Overall, Manhattan is a very large city spanning over 13 miles long[7] of city, history, and opportunity. Spanning through 4 primary sections, this city offers thousands of places to visit and discover.
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