‘Cleveland Rocks’

     
I swore I’d never write about the fraudulent “Grand Orient of the USA” on The Magpie Mason, but its demise was so long ago I suppose this doesn’t matter. Looking for something else on Google a minute ago, I found this August 1 story concerning a Masonic temple in Cleveland. Once a historic place of sacred retreat for Masonic Speculative craftsmen, it soon will be dedicated to an operative purpose involving stone: rock climbing.

I think we’d have to peruse the Dummies blog to see the timeline of the whole story, but way back in the previous decade, a gaggle of rejects stole an entire Masonic lodge from its membership in Cleveland, and proceeded to secede from the Grand Lodge of Ohio. It had been Halcyon Lodge 498, but the five or ten little rascals behind the defection made it the “Grand Orient of the United States.” (GOOFUS to some of us.) The revolution was short lived.

Courtesy Fresh Water Cleveland

The former Masonic temple in question, located at 2831 Franklin Boulevard, is to become a center for rock climbing, yoga, and other activities after a $2.4 million renovation is completed, Fresh Water Cleveland reports, adding:

“About eight Masonic Lodges operated out of the building before an ownership dispute reduced that number to just one lodge (that eventually moved out, too). ‘It was the Masonic lodge here,’ says [Kevin] Wojton. ‘One lodge took ownership and kicked the others out. They ran out of money three years ago and locked the doors and walked away.’

“After sitting empty, the building has some physical repairs that must be addressed, including asbestos remediation and a new roof. Vandals stole pipes, and the rain soaked the interior. But Wojton sensed the potential. ‘We saw it as an iconic space,’ he says. ‘With the story and the narrative, we wanted to invest the time and energy.’

“Wojton says old engraved Masonic chairs, desks, gavels, and other ‘Masonic icons’ remain, not to mention paintings (even one of George Washington) and Art Deco design elements. Then there’s marble everywhere—on the floors, the walls, the staircase, even the bathrooms.

“‘It was definitely a different time,’ Wojton says. ‘We want to keep as much of the historic nature of the building as possible.’”

The new enterprise is expected to open for business at the end of this year, or early next. Click here to read Karin Connelly Rice’s story in Fresh Water Cleveland.