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"Opening Banquet, Masonic Temple, Asheville, NC, April
26, 1913
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| Title | Freemasonry |
| Creator | D.H. Ramsey Library, UNC Asheville |
| Subject Keyword : | Freemasonry ; Asheville, NC ; Masons ; Masonic ; fraternal organizations ; |
| Subject LCSH : | |
| Description | A collection of items related to Freemasonry in western North Carolina. Particular emphasis is on the Masonic Temple in Asheville, N.C. |
| Publisher | D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNC Asheville |
| Contributor | Mark Bennett |
| Date | 2009-11-20 |
| Type | Collection ; Text ; photographs |
| Format | digital web page |
| Identifier | |
| Source | Misc. |
| Language | English |
| Relation | E.M. Ball Photographic Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, UNC Asheville |
| Coverage spatial | Asheville, NC ; Western North Carolina |
| Coverage temporal | 1800 - present |
| Rights | Any display,
publication, or public use must credit the D.H. Ramsey Library, Special
Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendents, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
| Donor | virtual |
| Acquisition | various |
| Citation | "Freemasonry," in Sense of Place, Heritage of Western North Carolina, UNC Asheville |
| Processed by | UNC Asheville, Special Collections staff, 2009 |
| Last update | 2009-11-20 |
| HISTORY | |
| Asheville's Masonic Temple is the home of the
Blue Lodge, Mt. Hermon Lodge 118,chartered in 1847 and the Asheville
Chapter No. 25 of the Royal Arch Masons, chartered in 1852. Alternately
referred to as the "Masonic Lodge" and later the "Scottish Rite Temple,"
the name emblazoned on the lintel above the paired Ionic columns. Planning
meetings were held for the construction of the new temple between the Mt. Hermon Lodge 118 and the Asheville Chapter, the Lodge of Perfection No. 1
in 1909 and in 1912 a location on Broadway was decided upon by the nearly
500 member order. The structure located at 80 Broadway in Asheville,
is the design of Richard Sharp Smith of the architectural firm, Smith and
Carrier, who was formerly in the employ of Richard Morris Hunt, the
architect of the Biltmore House. Smith designed the Masonic Temple
in the same year that he founded the North Carolina chapter of the
American Institute of Architects. The building was completed in April of 1913 by the J.C. McPherson contracting company. It is constructed of pressed bricks manufactured by Alex C. Scott Brick Co. of Knoxville, TN. The four-story building is trimmed out in limestone and gray brick with a grey granite foundation. The shallow first floor is rusticated and the Norman arched entryway is framed by terracotta tile. The bracketted, hipped red tile roof covers the front section of the building and a gabled roof rises over the great hall, to the rear of the building and accommodates the 24 large panoramic back-drops used in the Masonic ceremonies and rituals. The facade is graced by a limestone portico that reaches two stories and is fronted by four paired Ionic columns. Above the columns is a broad lintel with "Scottish Rite Cathedral" written on it and above the lintel rests a small balcony with a balustrade, accessed from the fourth floor. The interior of the building is spacious and once contained a bowling alley and a shuffle-board court, remnants of which may be seen today. Planning of the original structure called a multiple-use building with a grand library, or reading room on the first floor, near the entry (still in place today) and the main offices and secretarial area just off the large lobby. On the first floor to the rear is a large dining room and the kitchen. The upper stories were to serve the various branches of the Lodge, including the activities of the Blue Lodge and the American or York Rite bodies, on the second floor. On the third floor the plan was to accommodate the activities of the Scottish Rite bodies. This plan was roughly followed in the building's purposes over the years. On the Woodfin street elevation, the brick wall is relieved by a large and graceful three-story blind thermal window. In April of 1919 the Masonic Temple Board bought the lot and the boarding house, known as "The Ozarks" next to the Temple for a price reported to be $15,250. The boarding house was soon removed to another location and the added lot became the current parking area next to the Temple.
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| The Masonic Temple and the Mt. Hermon Lodge
members were very active in the civic affairs of Asheville. The
membership during the late 1900's and early 1920's was well over 700
member, with 1920 being the highest membership year (some 800 members).
The capacity of the Temple was limited and the large membership resulted
in the creation of a number of smaller lodges in western North Carolina,
as the Mt. Hermon Lodge has served the entire western region for many
years.
Many civic leaders were active members of the fraternal brotherhood and
their names signal the deep cooperation this organization gave to the city
of Asheville. Individuals such as Robert Brank Vance
(1828-1899), who was a past
Grand Master of Masons of North Carolina and served in many capacities for
the state of North Carolina. In 1881 he served as the Methodist
church delegate to the ecumenical conference in London, England and is
well-known as an author and lecturer across the state. |
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Robert Brank Vance Past Master of Mt Hermon Lodge and Past Grand
Master of Masons of North Carolina. Born in North Carolina, April 24,
1828. General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; U.S.
Representative from North Carolina 8th District, 1873-85; member of North
Carolina state legislature. He declined re-nomination in 1884, but took an
active part in the Democratic campaign of that year, and in the following
spring was appointed assistant commissioner of patents by President
Cleveland. He also attained prominence in the masonic order as
grand-master for his State, in the Methodist church as delegate to general
conferences and the ecumenical conference in London in 1881, and as a
lecturer and author.
Fred Seely, the architect and manager of the Grove Park Inn and later the Biltmore Industries was an active member and a 32 degree Mason. Inclusionary in its membership, many in the Jewish community were members. However, the African American community maintained its own brotherhood and Masonic Hall, but coordinated events with their white brothers.
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