House of the Temple facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The House of the Temple |
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House of the Temple in 2008
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | American Neoclassicism |
| Address | 1733 16th St NW |
| Town or city | Washington, D.C. |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 38°54′50″N 77°02′09″W / 38.9138°N 77.0359°W |
| Construction started | October 18, 1911 |
| Completed | October 18, 1915 |
| Client | Scottish Rite of Freemasonry |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | John Russell Pope |
The House of the Temple is a special building in Washington, D.C., United States. It is the main office for a group called the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. This building is also known by its longer official name: Home of The Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, Washington D.C., U.S.A.
The famous architect John Russell Pope designed this building. You can find it at 1733 16th Street, N.W., in the Dupont Circle area. It's about a mile north of the White House. The building's design was inspired by an ancient wonder of the world. It looks like the tomb of Mausolus from Halicarnassus.
The Temple also has a very large collection of items. Many of these are about the Scottish poet and Freemason Robert Burns. This collection is part of its library. This library was actually the first public library in Washington, D.C.
Contents
Building the House of the Temple
On May 31, 1911, work began on the House of the Temple. This was 110 years after the Supreme Council was first started. Grand Commander James D. Richardson broke ground at the site in Washington, D.C. The first stone, called the cornerstone, was placed on October 18, 1911. This was done by Grand Master J. Claude Keiper.
The architect John Russell Pope created the building's design. He based it on the tomb of Mausolus. This tomb was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The building was finished and officially opened four years later, on October 18, 1915.
A Highly Praised Design
The design of the House of the Temple was greatly admired. Other architects praised it very much. In 1917, John Russell Pope won the Gold Medal from the Architectural League of New York for his work.
A French architect named Jacques Gréber wrote about the building in 1920. He called it "a monument of remarkable sumptuousness." He also said it was "an admirable study of antique architecture." In 1928, Fiske Kimball wrote that it was "an example of the triumph of classical form in America."
In the 1920s, a group of architects named it one of the top three public buildings in the United States. The other two were the Nebraska State Capitol and the Pan American Union Building. In 1932, government architects also ranked it among the top ten buildings in the country.
Important Collections and History
In 1944, the remains of Albert Pike were moved to the House of the Temple. He was a former leader of the Supreme Council and a Confederate General. The remains of John Henry Cowles were also placed there in 1952. He had been Grand Commander for 31 years.
The Temple's library holds one of the world's largest collections. It focuses on the Scottish poet and Freemason Robert Burns. When this library opened in 1870, it was the first public library in Washington, D.C.
The House of the Temple is part of the Sixteenth Street Historic District. This district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. This means it is a historically important building.
From 1990 to 2011, the Temple had a community garden on its land. This garden was about 0.25 acres (1,000 square meters) in size. It was divided into about 70 small plots. People living nearby took care of these plots. In 2011, the garden was closed. The space was needed for construction work on the building.
See also
- List of Masonic buildings in the United States
- List of Masonic libraries
- Masonic Temple (Washington, DC), another nearby building that was once a Masonic temple.
- Julius Lansburgh Furniture Co., Inc., an office building that also served as a Masonic temple in the past.
