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Quinta Essential 500 Click to enlarge. |
Thank you for reading The Magpie Mason. Today we begin our nineteenth—and most likely penultimate—year together.
So let me tell you about the centennial anniversary of the New Haven Masonic Temple, which will be celebrated next month with two events.
On Saturday, October 3, the Grand Lodge of Connecticut will rededicate the building, after which the brethren will host an open house featuring displays by the groups who meet there. The event will begin at 10 a.m. and should conclude at 2 p.m.
On Saturday, October 24, a formal gala awaits you. Doors at six o’clock. Only $55 per person. There will be music and a celebration of the historic building’s past. You’ll take home gifts too. Click here.
In addition, or in lieu of, there is the Centennial Club. Your $100 donation to preserve the temple will have your name added to the Centennial Club plaque, and will get you the commemorative coin and a club tie. Click here.
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| MW Arthur Nash |
A ton of artifacts were deposited into that stone (I’m assuming a time capsule) and New Haven Mayor (and Hiram 1’s Senior Warden) James B. Tower delivered a “brief speech” before everyone returned to Hiram’s meeting place to close the Grand Lodge meeting and head to the Hotel Taft for dinner.
In his subsequent report to the Grand Lodge, MW Nash noted:
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| Click to enlarge. |
“When completed, this will be one of the finest Temples in Connecticut, if not New England,” he added. “For some of us, this was a long day, from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.”
And don’t think this was the only Masonic temple in New Haven. Just two months prior, the Grand Lodge laid the foundation stone of the building Olive Branch 84 was constructing on Whalley Avenue, and that building was dedicated November 20. In June of 1924, Adelphi Lodge 63 broke ground on Grand Avenue.
It is rare for a building to stand for a hundred years in this country, much less remain in use, and especially remain in use by the original owner. Happy anniversary, brethren!
