George Washington Display of U.S. Masonic Buildings

Masonic Library & Museum Association - MLMA

An International Organization of Librarians, Archivists, Curators, & Directors

George Washington Masonic Memorial

Display of U.S. Masonic Buildings

“Ours is an order of builders, the most ancient and honorable in the world,
and it is beneath the dignity of our Lodges to eke out a comfortless
existence in rented flats.”

Masonic Standard, 1908

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial was built between 1922 and1932 and cost more than $3 million ($38 million today). The entire amount was raised by donations from Masonic state grand lodges, local lodges and individual Freemasons around the country.

During this same period, Freemasonry experienced unprecedented growth. In 1900, there were nearly one million Freemasons in 10,000 lodges. By 1930, there were over three million members in 15,000 lodges. In the spirit of civic improvement, Masonic pride and the “Roaring 20’s” prosperity, scores of new buildings arose in big cities and small towns as Freemasons competed to build the grandest temple. Like the Memorial, all these new temples were built with voluntary contributions.

Taken from postcards of the time, shown here is a small selection from the
golden age of Masonic architecture.

Here is the list of Grand Lodges and temples from cities used:

GRAND LODGE CITY
Alabama Birmingham
Arkansas Little Rock
Alaska - ?
Arizona Phoenix
California Sacramento
Colorado Colorado Springs
Connecticut New Britain
Delaware - ?
D.C. Grand Lodge
Georgia Savannah
Florida Tampa
Idaho – Coeur D’Alene
Hawaii – Honolulu
Illinois Decatur
Indiana Kokomo
Iowa Davenport
Kansas Topeka
Kentucky – Louisville
Louisiana New Orleans
Maine Portland
Maryland Cumberland
Massachusetts Lawrence
Michigan Detroit
Minnesota Rochester
Mississippi – Jackson
Montana Butte
Missouri St. Louis
Nebraska Hastings
Nevada Reno
New Hampshire Manchester
New Jersey Atlantic City
New Mexico Albuquerque
New York Rochester
North Carolina Charlotte
North Dakota Fargo
Ohio Dayton
Oklahoma Muskogee
Oregon Salem
Pennsylvania Johnstown
Rhode Island Providence
South Carolina Columbia
South Dakota Sioux Falls
Tennessee Knoxville
Texas Ft. Worth
Utah Salt Lake
Vermont Rutland
Virginia Danville
Washington Spokane
West Virginia Clarksburg
Wisconsin Kenosha
Wyoming Cheyenne

++++++++++++++++
Mark A. Tabbert, P.M.
Director of Collections
George Washington Masonic Memorial
101 Callahan Drive
Alexandria, VA 22301-2751

703 683 2007 ext. 17
mtabbert@gwmemorial.org
www.gwmemorial.org <http://www.gwmemorial.org/>