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The Masonic Temple

Making Men Out of Myth

By Lauren Earline Leonard

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EXCERPT //

One North Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA

onenorthbroad.com

The temple, on North Broad Street in Philadelphia, is a stone’s throw from City Hall and home of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. The Norman-style building was built between 1868 and 1873 and features seven meeting halls exemplifying Corinthian, Egyptian, Gothic, Moorish, Norman, and Renaissance architecture. The halls vary in size, with raised platform seating situated by cardinal direction for various levels of leadership and an altar to hold the Three Great Lights of Masonry: the Square, the Compass, and the Volume of the Sacred Law (preferred philosophical readings of the group). 

“Everyone loves the Egyptian Hall,” says Mike Comfort, director of the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania at the Masonic Temple, but considering the exquisitely detailed frescos, textiles, stained glass, sculpture, furniture, and fixtures (Square and Compass door knockers) throughout—it’s hard not to marvel at them all.  Hidden in each hall amidst the meticulous design, are flaws meant to remind members that no mortal being is capable of perfection.

Each hall was designed with flaws to remind members that no mortal being is capable of perfection. “Freemasonry makes good men better,” says Mike Comfort, director of the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania at the Masonic Temple. //

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