Masonic Temple (St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Masonic Temple built in 1894 at St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada is an excellent example of Victorian lodge construction which includes pilasters, free-standing columns and multiple pediments.

On December 24, 1746 the first Freemasonry warrant was granted to Newfoundland by The Grand Lodge of Boston. Where they did not have a formal building to hold meetings the Masons were forced to meet at various places in the city. The first formal Masonic building in St. John's was built on Long's Hill in 1885. It was a wooden structure that fell victim to the Great Fire of 1892. From the insurance that was carried on the building the Masons had erected a larger more durable structure to replace the wooden original.

Freemason and former Newfoundland prime minister Sir William Whiteway laid the cornerstone on August 23, 1894. The Masonic Temple was made from large bricks imported from Accrington and built upon a stone foundation. It is three stories and contains several classical motifs, it includes pilasters, free-standing columns and multiple pediments. An elaborate pipe organ decorates the main room which was dedicated on April 28, 1916 with a large portion of the funding contributed by Sir John C. Crosbie.

The Freemasons held the first Masonic meeting in the structure on November 1, 1896, but the order did not consecrate the building until April 23, 1897. It is the home to the following orders;

• The District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador of the Grand Lodge of Scotland
• The Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Nine Craft Lodges
• Chapter of the Royal Arch
• Preceptory
• York Cross of Honour
• The Order of the Red Cross of Constantine
• The Royal Order of Scotland

The Masonic Temple was designated a Registered Heritage Structure by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador in April 1995, and is listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

List of District Grand Masters	Years
Alexander M. Mackay	1868 — 1905
James Gordon	1906 — 1908
John Cowan	1908 — 1913
Charles Robert Duder	1913 — 1922
Hon. Sir Tasker K. Cook	1922 — 1937
David M. MacFarlane, M.B.E.	1938 — 1957
Frederick Homer (Not installed due to illness)	1958 — 1958
Louis John Harnum	1959 — 1964
Dr. Hon. Ewart John Arlington Harnum, L.L.D.	1964 — 1969
Hedley Bramwell Snelgrove	1969 — 1975
Alexander Oscar Knight	1975 — 1985
Harold George Ryan	1985 — 1990
Lloyd Verdun Hussey	1990 — 1995
Robert David Charles Taylor	1995 — 2000
Walter Rex Cotter	2001 — 2005
Lester Wesley Bowering	2005 —

[edit] External links

• History of the Masonic Temple by the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador
  
• Picture and history of the Masonic Temple
  
• Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador