Building in D.C., United States
The
House of the Temple
(officially,
Home of The Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
) is a
Masonic temple
in
Washington, D.C.
, United States, that serves as the headquarters of the
Scottish Rite
of Freemasonry,
Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A.
Designed by
John Russell Pope
, it stands at 1733
16th Street
,
N.W.
, in the
Dupont Circle
neighborhood, about one mile directly north of the
White House
. The full name of the Supreme Council is "The Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commander of the House of the
Temple of Solomon
of the Thirty-third degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America." It was modeled after the
tomb of Mausolus
at
Halicarnassus
.
The Temple also holds a permanent large collection of materials related to Scottish poet and Freemason
Robert Burns
, one of the world’s largest, in its library holdings, which Library was the first public library in Washington, D.C.
[1]
History
[
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]
On May 31, 1911, 110 years after the founding of the Supreme Council, Grand Commander James D. Richardson broke ground on the spot where the House of the Temple now stands in Washington, D.C. Grand Master J. Claude Keiper, of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, laid the cornerstone in the northeast corner on October 18, 1911.
[2]
House of the Temple rear view
The temple was designed by architect
John Russell Pope
, who modeled it after the
tomb of Mausolus
at
Halicarnassus
, one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
.
[1]
The building was dedicated four years later on October 18, 1915.
The building's design was widely praised by contemporary architects, and it won Pope the Gold Medal of the
Architectural League of New York
in 1917. In his 1920 book
L'Architecture aux Etats-Unis
, French architect
Jacques Greber
described it as "a monument of remarkable sumptuousness ... the ensemble is an admirable study of antique architecture stamped with a powerful dignity."
Fiske Kimball
's 1928 book
American Architecture
describes it as "an example of the triumph of classical form in America". In the 1920s, a panel of architects named it "one of the three best public buildings" in the United States, along with the
Nebraska State Capitol
and the
Pan American Union Building
in Washington, D.C. In 1932, it was ranked as one of the ten top buildings in the country in a poll of
federal government
architects.
[3]
House of the Temple library
In 1944, the remains of former Sovereign Grand Commander and Confederate General
Albert Pike
were removed from
Oak Hill Cemetery
in
Georgetown
and placed in the House of the Temple.
[4]
The remains of Past Grand Commander John Henry Cowles were entombed in the temple in 1952, after his 31-year reign as Grand Commander.
[5]
The Temple also holds one of the largest collections of materials related to
Scottish
poet and Freemason
Robert Burns
in its library. When the library opened in 1870, it was the first
public library
in Washington, D.C.
[6]
Temple at night
The House of the Temple is designated as a
contributing property
to the
Sixteenth Street Historic District
, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
in 1978.
[7]
From 1990 to 2011, the temple hosted a
community garden
on its grounds, with the garden occupying about 0.25-acre (1,000 m
2
), divided into approximately 70 small plots tended by nearby residents.
[8]
In fall 2011, the Temple closed the garden in order to use the space to stage construction equipment for a building rehabilitation project.
[9]
In popular culture
[
edit
]
In the 2009 novel
The Lost Symbol
by
Dan Brown
, the building is the setting for several key scenes.
[10]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Helwig, Anne H.; Ganschinietz, Suzanne (January 30, 1978).
"National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form"
.
National Capital Planning Commission
. (
National Park Service
). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 21, 2011
. Retrieved
February 28,
2010
.
- ^
Bell, Debra (January 6, 2010).
"The Freemasons In Washington"
.
U.S. News & World Report
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-01-06
. Retrieved
September 11,
2020
.
- ^
House of the Temple
Archived
2007-01-17 at the
Wayback Machine
, The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A. & S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA website, accessed June 18, 2010
- ^
Kelly, John (October 22, 2016).
"Why is Confederate general Albert Pike memorialized at Judiciary Square?"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
September 26,
2020
.
- ^
Simpkins, Travis.
"John Henry Cowles, 33°. Past Sovereign Grand Commander. Scottish Rite, SJ. by Travis Simpkins"
. Retrieved
2023-08-29
.
- ^
Fox, William L. (1997).
Lodge of the Double-headed Eagle
. University of Arkansas Press. p. 258.
ISBN
9781610752435
.
- ^
"16th Street Historic District"
.
National Park Service
. Retrieved
February 28,
2010
.
- ^
"Plot Map"
. The Temple Garden. Archived from
the original
on 2011-07-24
. Retrieved
2010-09-16
.
- ^
Roso, Larissa (April 19, 2011).
"Garden to Close for Masonic Temple renovation"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
2012-08-24
.
- ^
Siegel, Robert
(September 16, 2009).
"Secret of the Masons: It's Not So Secret"
.
All Things Considered
.
National Public Radio
. Retrieved
September 18,
2009
.
External links
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]