Here is the second part of our list of the top 10 masonic buildings in the USA. This list is not in order and is highly subjective. If we left off your favorites, please forgive this oversight.
Masonic Temple and Masonic Library and Museum, Philadelphia, PA
The Masonic Temple was constructed in 1873, and is located across the street from the Philadelphia City Hall. It houses the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge F&AM. When it was constructed the New York Times described it as “the largest, costliest, and most magnificent structure consecrated to Masonry in the World.” Besides a massively grand staircase, the temple contains an Egyptian room, a Corinthian room, a Moorish room, a Renaissance hall, a Norman hall in Rhenish Romanesque style, and the Ionic hall, with full-length portraits of “Right Worshipful Past Grand Masters,” among others.
Masonic Hall, New York City, NY
Located in the Flatiron District in Manhattan, NY, this building spans an entire city block. It houses the Grand Lodge of NY, and has several different lodge rooms to allow the dozens of individual lodges that meet there to have meetings simultaneously. In addition it houses the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library and Museum.
Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple, Santa Fe, NM
The Scottish Rite Temple of Santa Fe, NM was build in 1911 in a Moorish Revival Style to build a connection between the Spanish building tradition of New Mexico and that of the Moors in southern Spain.
Scottish Rite Cathedral, Indianapolis, IN
It was constructed between 1927 and 1929 at the cost of $2.5 million. Every dimension of the structure (in feet) is evenly divisible by three (reflecting the three degrees in Freemasonry), with many also being divisible by 33 (reflecting the degrees a member of the Scottish Rite can achieve). Throughout the Cathedral are over 100 ‘stained glass’ windows (actually painted glass) that depict the three craft lodge degrees of Masonry, the degrees of the Scottish Rite, symbols of York Rite Freemasonry, plus images of liberal arts, sciences, and even technology of the 1920s at the time of its construction. About 1,100 persons can be seated in the theater and another 200 on chairs in the arena.
San Antonio Scottish Rite Temple, San Antonio, TX
This magnificent edifice was completed after three years construction in 1924 at a cost of $1.5 million. It is five and a half stories tall and houses the Scottish Rite theatre in addition to several lodge rooms, commercial kitchen, ball room, dining room, and an elegant ladies parlor. The ball room offers seating for up to 500 guests, and the auditorium has a seating capacity of 2,062.