MASONIC SITES IN HISTORIC PHILADELPHIA
So much of Masonry in America had its roots in Philadelphia. This Short Talk
Bulletin notes the Masonic connections and heritage of many of these sites, a
heritage overlooked or ignored by non-Masons. As you visit this great city with
its landmarks in American history, we know you will share our pride in the
pervading influence of Freemasonry in the founding of our nation and in the
development of its culture. This will help you identify Masonry with historic
Philadelphia.
1. MASONIC TEMPLE-One North Broad Street-is the home of the Grand Lodge of
Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. One of the wonders of the Masonic
world, the Temple's symbolic turrets and spires form part of Philadelphia's
downtown skyline. The Temple was designed by Brother James H. Windrim, a
noted architect and member of Lodge No. 72. The Temple has seven Lodge Halls,
the finest examples of Corinthian, Ionic, Italian Renaissance, Norman, Gothic,
Oriental and Egyptian styles. The Temple also contains the offices of the Grand
Lodge, Grand Chapter and Grand Commandery; committee rooms; banquet rooms; and
modern kitchen facilities. The Temple houses the Grand Lodge Museum, with one of
the greatest collections of Masonic treasures in the world, and a library of
more than 70,000 volumes, many of them rare items. The huge granite cornerstone
was laid June 24, 1868. The Temple was dedicated September 26, 1873, in solemn
ceremonies. Directly across from the main entrance is a bronze statue of
"Benjamin Franklin-Master Craftsman" which the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania
presented to the City on June 27, 1981.
2. SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL-Broad and Race Streets. Designed by Brother Horace
W. Cantor and completed in 1927, the massive seven-story, gray limestone
structure of Greek Doric design, contains exhibits of Masonic significance in
its main lobby. The Cathedral contains an auditorium with a seating capacity of
1,960, acoustically one of the finest in the United States. It is the
headquarters of the Valley of Philadelphia, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite.
3. CITY HALL-Broad and Market Streetsis the most prominent landmark in
Philadelphia. The tower is 547 feet tall, including the huge statue of William
Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, at the top. Brother John McArthur, Jr., architect
of the Hall, was assisted in its details by Brother Thomas U. Walter. The
cornerstone was laid at high twelve, July 4, 1874, by Brother Alfred R. Potter,
R.W. Grand Master, in the presence of His Honor the Mayor, Brother W.S. Stokley,
Members of Councils, and a large number of citizens, many of whom were members
of the Craft. The inscribed cornerstone may be seen in the Northeast corner
(inside North Arch).
4. JOHN WANAMAKER'S DEPARTMENT STOREI3th and Market Streets-was opened in
1876 in the former freight depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The present
building was completed in 1910. It is famous for the bronze eagle in the grand
court, a popular city meeting place, and for its daily organ concerts. Brother
John Wanamaker, merchant prince, was a distinguished Mason, a member of
Friendship Lodge No. 400 until his death, December 12, 1927.
5. LIBERTY BELL-on Independence Mall directly across from Independence Hall
and facing it on Chestnut Street. The "Liberty Bell" was moved from Independence
Hall to its new pavilion at one minute past midnight, January 1, 1776. The Bell
was ordered from London by the Pennsylvania Assembly in 1751 to commemorate the
50th Anniversary of William Penn's Charter of Privileges insuring freedom to the
citizens of his province. The original Bell cracked on its first ringing and was
recast by Pass and Stow in 1753. It was rung on July 8, 1776, to summon the
citizens to the State House yard to hear the Declaration of Independence read
by Brother and Colonel John Nixon.
6. INDEPENDENCE HALL-Chestnut
Street between 5th and 6th Streets-was originally the State House of
Pennsylvania. It was begun in 1732 and completed in 1756, and served as the
seat of Pennsylvania's Government until 1799. In the Assembly Room, the Second
Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. Here
in 1787, the Federal Constitutional Convention framed the Constitution of the
United States. From 1800 to 1802, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania used the west
room on the second floor of Independence Hall.
7. CONGRESS HALL-6th and Chestnut Streets is one of two buildings adjoining
Independence Hall, the other being Old City Hall on the corner of 5th and
Chestnut Streets. Congress Hall had originally been built, 1789-1790, as the
Philadelphia County Court House, but was turned over to the Federal Government
for the use of Congress and has since been known as Congress Hall. The House of
Representatives met on the first floor and the United States Senate on the
second floor between 1790 and 1800. Brother George Washington was inaugurated
for his second term in this building. Many prominent Masons, members of both
legislative bodies, met in Congress Hall. A number of Masonic Lodges have had
the honor of meeting here.
8. OLD CITY HALL-5th and Chestnut Streets-was built between 1789 and 1791.
Upon its completion, it was offered to the United States Government for its use,
and it was here that the Supreme Court convened, 1791-1800. Brother George
Washington, in selecting judges for the Supreme Court, stated that he considered the new judicial system one that would "give dignity and justice to our
national character. " He named Brother John Jay as first Chief Justice. On April
21, 1779, Jay had written to Washington a letter of Masonic significance. "The
dissolution of our governments threw us into a political chaos. Time, Wisdom
and Perseverance will reduce it to Form and give it strength, Order and Harmony.
In his work you are (in the style of your profession) a Master Builder, and
God grant that you may long continue a Free and Accepted one." After the Federal
Government moved to Washington, D.C. in 1800, this building reverted to its
original purpose and became Philadelphia City Hall until the city government
moved to the present City Hall in 1887.
9. PHILOSOPHICAL HALL-104 South
5th Street-is the home of the American Philosophical Society, which Brother
Benjamin Franklin helped to found in 1743. The Hall was built between 1785 and
1789, and contains many Franklin items. Although the building is not open to the
public, it is Masonically important because of Franklin and other Masons who
were connected with it. It is the oldest society devoted to scientific learning
in America. LIBRARY HALL, across 5th Street from Philosophical Hall, is a
reconstruction of a building originally erected 1789-1790 for the Library
Company of Philadelphia, another of Brother Franklin's institutions. The
building today houses the library of the American Philosophical Society. In its
collections are about 58ø70 of all Franklin documents. The Library may be
visited from 9-5, Monday through Friday.
10. CARPENTER'S HALL-320 Chestnut Street-was built in 1770 by the Carpenter's
Company, a guild of master carpenters, which still owns and maintains it. The
First Continental Congress met there in 1774. Among its members were
bricklayers, stonecutters, and various craftsmen, a number of them members of
Philadelphia Masonic Lodges. Brother Robert Smith, one of America's most
successful "architects," designed Carpenters' Hall, as well as Christ Church
steeple and other early buildings, including Brother Benjamin Franklin's house
on High (Market) Street.
11 . FIRST BANK OF THE UNITED STATES-I 16 South 3rd Street, between Chestnut
and Walnut Streets-was erected 1795-1797 and is the oldest bank in the United
States. When its charter lapsed in 1811, Brother Stephen Girard, merchant,
shipowner and philanthropist, bought it for his private bank in 1812. Brother
Girard is well-known in Philadelphia for his acts of charity, including Girard
College and the Stephen Girard Charity Fund he established in the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania.
12. BISHOP WHITE HOUSE-309 Walnut Street-was the home of Brother William
White, rector of Christ Church and St. Peter's and Bishop of the Protestant
Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania, 1787-1836. He was Chaplain of the Continental
Congress. Many important persons of the period, including Washington, dined
at the Bishop's House.
13. FRANKLIN'S COURT-Orianna Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. In this
little alley is Franklin's Court where Brother Benjamin Franklin built his home
in 1765. He lived here until he died in 1790 at the age of 84. Although the
house no longer exists, a skeleton structure shows where it once stood.
Archaeological diggings on the site have uncovered the foundations and many
interesting artifacts. Brother Franklin left his mark in many fields-science,
politics, diplomacy, literature, humanities and Freemasonry.
14. CHRIST CHURCH-2nd Street north of Market Street-was established as a
parish in 1695. Its church building dates from 1727 and is generally regarded as
the most historic of Philadelphia's colonial churches. The tower and spire were
added in 1754, financed by a lottery of which Brother Benjamin Franklin was
one of the organizers. A number of its clergy and parishioners were Masons.
Brothers George Washington and Benjamin Franklin had family pews there. While
Washington was in Philadelphia in 1778, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania held a
procession in honor of St. John's Day (December 27). Some three hundred
Brethren marched to Christ Church to ceremonies in which "His Excellency our Illustrious Brother George Washington, Esq." participated. "An excellent and
well-adopted sermon was preached by our worthy and revered Brother William
Smith, D.D.", Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge.
15. BETSY ROSS HOUSE-239 Arch Street is the home of the seamstress who has
been credited with making the first American flag. Brother John Ross, husband of
Betsy, was a member of Lodge No. 2, Philadelphia.
16. CHRIST CHURCH BURIAL GROUND-5th and Arch Streets-contains the graves of
seven signers of the Declaration of Independence. Francis Hopkinson, George
Ross, James Wilson, Benjamin Rush and Brothers Benjamin Franklin, Robert Morris
and Joseph Hewes. The grave of Franklin and his wife Deborah has a bronze plaque
upon which is inscribed an epitaph written by Franklin when twenty-two years
of age. "The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old
book, its contents torn out, and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies
here, food for worms. But the work shall not be wholly lost; for it will, as he
believed, appear once more, in a new and more perfect edition, corrected and
amended by the Author." Christ Church still maintains this burial ground
which has been in existence since 1719.
17. FREE QUAKER MEETING HOUSE-5th and Arch Streets-was built in 1783, two
years after the battle of Yorktown. The Free Quakers, "Fighting Quakers" as they
were sometimes referred to, took the oath of allegiance to the new United
States and bore arms in its defense. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania met here
between 1790-1799.
18. GRAFF HOUSE-7th and Market Streets. Here Thomas Jefferson wrote the
Declaration of Independence. Jefferson's Masonic membership is accepted by some
Masonic historians, while others question it.
19. CITY TAVERN-2nd Street between Walnut and Chestnut Streets-was completed
in 1773, and was a favorite gathering place for the businessmen of the period
and a center for revolutionary activities. It was also the temporary meeting
place of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, 1777-1778, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. City Tavern has been reconstructed and is once again
open for food and refreshment.
20. TUN TAVERN-Mattis and Spruce Streets-was also known as " Peggy Mullen' s
Beefsteak House." This famous tavern was razed some years ago and the land it
occupied on Water Street between Chestnut and Walnut Streets was incorporated
into the Delaware Expressway. The Marine Corps War Memorial Foundation has
broken ground at the Spruce and Mattis Streets site for the new Tun Tavern. The
historic significance of this building is threefold. It was the birthplace of
the United States Marine Corps, when in 1775 Captain and Brother Samuel Nicholas
opened a recruiting office there. The St. Andrew's Society was organized in the
Tavern in 1749. On St. John's Day, June 24, 1732, William Allen was elected
Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (Moderns) in Tun
Tavern, which also served as the meeting place of St. John's or "First" Lodge
and of Tun Tavern Lodge.
21. POWEL HOUSE 244 South 3rd Street-is one of the fine Georgian houses in
the United States. It was the home of Samuel Powel, often called the "Patriot
Mayor" because he headed Philadelphia's City government until 1789. The last
mayor under British rule, he was also the first under the free nation. Frequent
guests of Powel were Washington, Lafayette and other great Masonic patriots.
22. PHILADELPHIA CONTRIBUTIONSHIP FOR THE INSURING OF HOUSES FROM LOSS BY
FIRE-212 South 4th Streetfounded by Brother Franklin in 1752, is the oldest
fire insurance company in the country. It grew out of the Union Fire Company,
Philadelphia's first volunteer fire-fighting organization, which Franklin
founded in 1736. The present Contributionship building dates from 1836.
23. WASHINGTON SQUARE-bounded north and south by Walnut and Locust Streets
and east and west by 6th and 7th Streets-is one of the original squares laid out
in 1682 by William Penn's surveyor, Thomas Holme. In 1704, Penn designated the
area as a potter's field, a burial ground for strangers. Near Washington Square
were located the city jail and the State House. During the Revolution, the
British used the jail for military prisoners and the State House for a hospital.
Hundreds of Continental soldiers who died in these buildings were buried here in
common graves. Today, there is a monument to the Unknown Soldier of the American
Revolution in Washington Square.
24. MIKVEH ISRAEL BURIAL GROUND occupies a small parcel of land on Spruce
Street east of 9th Street. The ground was granted to Rabbi Nathan Levy by the
Penn family in 1740. Buried there are many Philadelphians of the Jewish faith,
including Brother Haym Solomon, banker and broker, who negotiated all
Revolutionary War securities from France and Holland on his own personal
security without loss of a cent to America. When Solomon died in 1784, the
United States was indebted to him to the extent of $300,000. This debt has
never been repaid. For many, the most notable grave in Mikveh Israel Cemetery is
that of Rebecca Gratz, the inspiration for Rebecca, the heroine in Sir Walter
Scott's Ivanhoe.
25. PENNSYLVANIA HOSPlTAL-8th and Spruce Streets-is the world-renowned in
situation founded in 1751 by Brother Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. Pennsylvania
Hospital was a pioneer in the treatment of the mentally ill. The hospital still
occupies its original site and uses, along with other buildings, the original
hospital structure which appears today much as it did more than 200 years ago.
Benjamin West's famous painting "Christ Healing the Sick in the Temple" hangs
in the lobby of the main building.
26. LIBRARY COMPANY OF PHILADELPHIA-1314 Locust Street-is the oldest
subscription library in America, founded in 1731 by Brother Benjamin Franklin.
Housed since 1966 in its present building, the library is a treasury of books on
American culture, many of them rare editions. Perhaps the most outstanding
single collection is the personal library of James Logan. The Library Company
also contains paintings, portraits, maps and Franklin's electrical apparatus (Leyden
jars). Next door to the Library Company on Lucust Street stands THE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1300 Locust Street, founded in 1824. It is the
repository of priceless collections of historical manuscripts, papers, portraits
and personal possessions of famous Americans. Among its many rare items is "Liber
B," the Secretary's ledger account of members of St. John's Lodge from June 24,
1731 to June 24, 1738.
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