Introduction

Origins

The City

Collegeville (1887, 1895)
College Delta (1898, 1899)
Oakwood (1899)
Cedar Banks (1900)
College Grove (1903)
Fairview (1904, 1905)
College Heights (1904)

Charter of 1907

Avondale (1913)
Bungalow Knolls (1916)
Chesterfield Hills (1916)
Ardson (1919)
Ridgeley Park (1921)
Strathmore (1925)
Glen Cairn (1926)
Bailey (1927)
Touraine (1927)

The Campus

Chronology

Interactive Map

Sites on the National and State Historic Registers

Complete list of
Significant Structures

Sources

Masonic Temple, 314 M.A.C. Ave. (1916) NR

Masonic Temple, November, 2003. Photo Credit: Kevin S. Forsyth.

Fifty-three local Masons organized in 1915 and were chartered on 24 May, 1916, as Lodge No. 482, Free and Accepted Masons. They immediately hired Lansing architect Samuel D. Butterworth, a fellow Mason, to design a meeting hall. Butterworth's design, a four-story Italianate brick building, "was constructed at a cost of over $14,000. The Temple was used by such social organizations as the Odd Fellows, Good Fellows, and Eastern Star."[Landmark Walking Tour]

Today it is overshadowed by the nearby hotel complex, but when it was completed in 1916 the Masonic Temple stood tall and virtually alone on M.A.C. Avenue. After standing vacant for many years, the structure was sold by the Masons in 1986 to a private developer, who immediately gutted the interior but proved unable to convert the space for retail use. In 1998 another developer purchased and rehabilitated the building as office and residential space. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, its historical marker erected in 2001.

All content Copyright 1992 - 2008 by , unless otherwise noted.
This site is a work in progress and should be regarded as such. Use at your own risk.