The Detroit Masonic Temple is a large-events venue located in downtown Detroit, Michigan, at 500 Temple Street. The 4,404-seat Masonic Temple Theater, managed by Olympia Entertainment), is a venue for concerts, Broadway shows, and other special events in the Detroit Theater District. Architect George Mason designed the theater which contains a 55-foot (17 m)-by-100-foot stage. Detroit Masonic Temple was designed in the neo-gothic architectural style, using a great deal of limestone. The cornerstone was placed on September 19, 1922 using the same trowel that George Washington had used to set the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C.. The building was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, 1926. The building contains 14 floors, 210 ft (64 m) tall, and has 1037 units/rooms inside. The building also serves as headquarters to fifty Detroit-area Masonic organizations. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]
Much of the stone, plaster and metal work in the interior of the building was designed and executed by neo-gothic architectural style, Corrado Parducci. The three figures over the main entrance were by Leo Friedlander while the rest of the considerable architectural sculpture on the exterior was by Bill Gehrke. Bob Marley & The Wailers played in 1976, on may 10 during the Rastaman Vibration Tour.
Description
At one end of the building is the 14-story, 210-foot (64 m) Ritualistic Building, home to most of the Masonic organizations that call the Masonic Temple home. At the other end is ten-story Moslem Temple tower. In between are a 1,586-seat Scottish Rite Cathedral, a 17,500-square-foot (1,630 m2) drill hall used for trade shows, conventions, Detroit Derby Girls roller derby bouts, and a floating floor, plus two ballrooms—one of which measures 17,264 square feet (1,603.9 m2) and holds up to 1,000.
The Temple has hosted many concert acts, including the
Rolling Stones in 1978.
- This is the largest Masonic Temple in the World.
- This large complex includes a 14-story Ritual Building connected to a 10-story Shrine Club by the 7-story Auditorium Building.
- The complex is located across Temple Street from Cass Park.
- The building can be seen from Cass Tech
- The complex is located in an area known as Cass Corridor.
- The Detroit Masonic Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
- The temple's power plant could supply electricity for a city of 50,000.
- The Masonic Temple Theater seats 4,404 and is one of the finest theaters in the United States. Olympia Entertainment is the managing entity for the theater.
Architectural sculpture
References
- Hill, Eric J. and John Gallagher (2002). AIA Detroit: The American Institute of Architects Guide to Detroit Architecture. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3120-3.
- Kvaran, Einar Einarsson. Architectural Sculpture in America. unpublished.
- Lundberg, Alex and Greg Kowalski (2006). Detroit's Masonic Temple. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 073854034X.
- Meyer, Katherine Mattingly and Martin C.P. McElroy with Introduction by W. Hawkins Ferry, Hon A.I.A. (1980). Detroit Architecture A.I.A. Guide Revised Edition. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-1651-4.
- Masonic Temple:A.D. 1926, A.L. 5926. no publisher listed. 1926.
External links
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