Philadelphia Masonic Temple

While in continental Europe Masonic lodges are generally accustomed to meeting in discreet places where there is nothing to distinguish them from the outside world, apart from the occasional square and compass symbol, the situation is very different in the United States, where Masonic temples can be particularly spectacular. Such is the case of Philadelphia Masonic Temple, which some even describe as a cathedral. Built in the second half of the 19th century, this imposing structure is probably one of the most astonishing buildings ever constructed to house the work of Masonic lodges. What is the origin of Philadelphia Masonic Temple ? What are its special features ? We invite you to join us in discovering the extraordinary monument that is Philadelphia Masonic Temple.

The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Masonic Temple  is the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, one of the oldest Masonic bodies in America. What is the origin of this Grand Lodge ?

As we know, Freemasonry was first spread in the American colonies by military lodges (mainly Irish) and by the Grand Lodge of London (the Moderns), which established Provincial Grand Lodges there. In Philadelphia, the first Lodge of the Moderns was founded at the Tun Tavern in 1731. A Provincial Grand Lodge was organised in Pennsylvania, possibly as early as 1731, but by 1733 at the latest. It had several Provincial Grand Masters, including Benjamin Franklin. By 1755 it had a number of lodges and had built its first Masonic temple.

But the Grand Lodge of the Ancients, founded in England in 1751, was not long in forming its own Lodges and then Provincial Grand Lodges in America. In Philadelphia, the first Ancient Lodge was formed in 1758, and a Provincial Grand Lodge was constituted in 1761. By the late 1760s, anti-English sentiment was growing among the American colonists, leading to the War of Independence (1775-1783). The American insurgents included many Freemasons in their ranks, but all belonged to the Lodges of the Ancients. The Lodges of the Moderns, loyal to England, went into steep decline and, in the case of Pennsylvania, disappeared altogether. By 1785, there were no Lodges of the Moderns in Philadelphia and the city's first Masonic Temple was sold for charity.

On 25 September 1786, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Ancients of Pennsylvania declared itself independent of the English Grand Lodge of Ancients and immediately disbanded. And on 26 September, the very next day, thirteen lodges met to form the current Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

The first temples of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania 

The imposing building that stands today at 1 North Broad Street, across the street from Philadelphia City Hall, was not the first Masonic temple owned by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. It built its first temple on Chestnut Street in 1811, which was destroyed by fire in 1819 and rebuilt in 1820. 

In the 1850s, the Grand Lodge built a new temple on Chestnut Street, which was dedicated in 1855. This second temple was used until the present building was consecrated in 1873, when it was sold.

The Present Philadelphia Masonic Temple 

In 1867, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania held a design competition to build the present Temple, and the project of the young architect James Hamilton Windrim (1840-1919) was chosen. The building he proposed was in the Norman Romanesque style, a neo-medieval style that was very popular at the time.

The cornerstone (which weighed no less than 10 tonnes) was ceremoniously laid on St John's Day (24 June) 1868. The ceremony was presided over by Grand Master Richard Vaux, who used the same ceremonial trowel that George Washington had used to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol in 1793. 

The building was dedicated in 1873 and in 1887 the interior design was entrusted to the German-born painter and interior decorator George Herzog (1851-1920), who spent fifteen years creating very different worlds. Philadelphia Masonic Temple has seven temples in very different styles : Egyptian, Ionic, Corinthian, Roman, Renaissance, etc. There is also a ballroom and a banqueting hall.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1971, Philadelphia Masonic Temple is open to the public for guided tours, and the banqueting rooms can be hired for private events such as weddings. But it is still the official headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and 28 Philadelphia Lodges share its seven Temples for their ritual work.

If you're ever in Philadelphia, don't miss the chance to admire this exceptional building, a masterpiece of 19th-century American monumental architecture and an important part of the country's Masonic history.