Coordinates: 38°48′27″N 77°03′58″W / 38.8074767742926°N 77.06598043441772°W
George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first president of the United States, and a Mason.
The tower is fashioned after the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt, in part because of the common names of both cities (Alexandria, Virginia was named for John and Philip Alexander, the city's founders), and the Masonic interest in great buildings of the ancient world. It sits atop Shuter's Hill (named after a Union fort on the same location), near King Street and the Old Town district.
It is the only Masonic building supported and maintained by the 52 grand lodges of the United States. This is counter to common Masonic practice, where a building is only supported by the Grand Lodge of the state in which it resides. The building also houses the collection of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, which contains most of the fraternal artifacts of George Washington, including the Watson-Cassoul apron, sash, past master portrait, working tools and trowel used to lay the cornerstone at the United States Capitol.
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History
George Washington belonged to Alexandria Lodge 22, and was named the lodge's Charter Master in 1788. Records of Washington presiding over the lodge are non-existent, possibly due to a fire at the lodge's original location in Alexandria's city hall, which is where the lodge met until moving to the memorial in the early 1940s. Ground was broken in 1922, the Cornerstone laid in 1923; it was completed in 1932.[1]
Art and architecture
The masons are master craftsmen, and the building was built entirely with on-hand funds and donations - no loans were made for the construction. The design commission was awarded to the New York architectural firm of Helmle and Corbett. Designed in the classical style, the entrance is Doric, while the interior of the main hall (Memorial Hall) is Composite. The tower sections are Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The tower is capped with an Egyptian pyramid, and capped with a flame-like finial, as an homage to the lighthouse of Alexandria. All the murals inside were done by a single artist, Allyn Cox.
Rooms and levels
There are ten floors from basement to the top; select rooms are used for the public guided tour. The fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth are all furnished by Masonic appendant bodies, in particular the York Rite, Grotto, and Tall cedars of Lebanon
First floor
The First Floor contains three large, distinct areas: the Shrine Rooms, Assembly Hall, and Dining Rooms. The Shrine Rooms are dedicated to the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Shriners, who have established orthopedic hospitals and burn centers for children. The Assembly Hall is in the center space of the first floor, with eight New Hampshire green granite columns eighteen feet tall. Around the room are dioramas depicting scenes from the life of George Washington. The South Lodge Room is the home of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 and is also used by other visiting Masonic lodges. The North Lodge room is used by the Andrew Jackson Lodge No. 120 and other appendant Masonic organizations.
References
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This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (July 2009) |
- ^ "FAQ's - GW Masonic Memorial". gwmemorial.org. http://www.gwmemorial.org/Misc_Info/FAQs.htm. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: George Washington Masonic National Memorial |
- George Washington Masonic National Memorial
- Aerial View
- Masonic Dictionary - Washington Memorial
- Andrew Jackson Lodge # 120
- "Clues for the Lost Symbol" (video). today.msnbc.com. September 2009. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/31775632#32838853. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
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