Join me this year as we explore some well-known and lesser-known historic sites in Philadelphia in a monthly program I’m calling “I’ve lived in Philadelphia “forever” but have never been to ______. “Forever” can mean a short time or many years, and maybe you have visited the site a long time ago, or never. We'll visit locations from the 18th Century to the present time every month throughout 2025. I welcome your suggestions of places you'd like to visit.
Starting in January, we visited two landmarks of the 18th Century, Christ Church and Carpenters’ Hall. In February we visited the monumental landmark of 19th Century Philadelphia, City Hall, and in March, the 20th Century was represented by the Kimmel Center. In April we returned to the 18 th Century to visit another landmark Philadelphia building, Pennsylvania Hospital.
Now it is time to move ahead to the Victorian period again, for a visit to the Masonic Temple
A National Historic Landmark in the heart of Philadelphia, the Masonic Temple at One North Broad Street, directly across from City Hall, is home to the Masonic Library and Museum and the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
The Temple was designed in the medieval Norman style by James H. Windrim, who was 27 years old at the time he won the design competition. The massive granite cornerstone, weighing ten tons, was leveled on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24, 1868. The ceremonial gavel used on that day by Grand Master Richard Vaux was the same gavel used by President George Washington in leveling the cornerstone of the nation's Capitol building in 1793.
Construction was completed five years later, in 1873, and dedicated on September 29th of that year.
The interior, designed by George Herzog, was begun in 1887 and took another fifteen years to finish. The building features a Norman-style exterior which ushers visitors inside, where stylistic references to the Middle Ages give way to a fantasy of Renaissance-inspired neoclassicism in the corridors and stairs and to 19th Century “eclectic revivalism” in the lodge rooms.
Oriental Hall and the neoclassical Library and Museum, the Grand Ballroom, the Grand Master’s Suite and offices share the first floor. Norman, Egyptian, and Ionic Halls share the second floor with Corinthian and Renaissance Halls. The third floor houses Gothic Hall. Two ornate corridors and stair halls complement and connect every room.
Our guide for the Masonic Temple will be one of the staff members of the Temple.
Where we'll meet: We will meet in the entrance area of the Masonic Temple off Broad Street.
Cost: FitC members only, @ $12 ($10.00 fee, balance to FitC for administrative costs). Refunds (minus $2 for FitC costs) up to May 8.
Accessibility: There are elevators in the building for those who do not care to ascend and descend the magnificent stairways.
The Masonic Temple is easily accessed by the Broad Street and Market Frankford subway lines; get off at City Hall. Also, buses going up and down Market, JFK, and Broad Street pass near the Temple.
Weather: a rain or shine event
Thanks to FitC Volunteer Organizer: Joan Wells
Who organizes FitC events? Volunteers do, like you.
Questions about registration? Contact mignon.adams@gmail.com
