|
|
Dedicated
November 25, 1926, this 1037 room, 14 story building was unique among
Masonic buildings because all of the various Masonic bodies were housed
in the same structure. As of 2006, it became a York Rite Masonic Temple.
We currently are the home to 11 Masonic lodges, 2 Royal Arch Chapters,
a Council of Royal and Select Masons and Detroit Commandery No. 1 Knights
Templar. The Detroit Masonic Temple also houses the national offices of
the Sovereign York Rite College of North America.
There
are some twelve million cubic feet of space, making it the largest and
most complex building of its kind in the world.
The
first shovel of dirt was turned onThanksgiving Day 1920 and the Corner
Stone was placed on September 18, 1922. George Washington's own working
tools were brought from Virginia to be used for the ceremony.
The Temple was formally dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1926. Thousands
gathered for the formal ceremony and consecration by the Grand Lodge of
Michigan.
There are seven Craft Lodge Rooms - all having different decorative treatments,
the motifs of decoration being taken from the Egyptian, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian, Italian Renaissance, Byzantine, Gothic and Romanesque. The
rooms are all true to the period. All of the art work throughout the building,
especially the beautifully decorated ceilings was done under the personal
direction of famous Italian artists. There is also a Royal Arch room,
and a Commandery Asylum.
The Cathedral has a seating capacity of 1600 and its fully equipped stage
with a width of 64 feet from wall to wall and a depth of 37 feet from
the foot lights. The Cathedral is a beauty spot of the Temple, made rich
by carvings and color work which is most effectively carried out in the
ceiling.
In the center portion of the Temple is located the auditorium or public
portion of the structure. In this section of the building on the third
floor mezzanine is the mammoth drill hall, comprising 17,500 square feet
of open floor space. The drill hall is used by Detroit Commandery. As
of 2006, the Drill Hall is also the home of the Detroit Derby Girls Roller
Team. This drill hall is equipped with one of three floating floors in
the United States; that is, the entire floor is laid on felt cushions.
This type of construction provides more or less give to the floor which
tends to relieve the marchers.
Immediately under the drill hall is the main theatre. The Detroit Masonic
Theatre is one of the finest public halls in the United States, having
a seating capacity of 4404. Because of its arrangement, there is a very
intimate contact between the audience and stage. A great deal of careful
study was given to the acoustical treatment of this room which has produced
an auditorium where the hearing qualities are perfect from every seat.
The stage of the auditorium is the second largest in the United States,
having a width between walls of 100 feet and a depth from the curtain
line of 55 feet.
|