Scottish Rite Temple (Mobile, Alabama) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Scottish Rite Temple
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Scottish Rite Temple from the corner of N. Claiborne and St. Francis Streets.
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 Location in Alabama
Location in the United States
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| Location | 351 St. Francis Street Mobile, Alabama |
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| Built | 1921–22 |
| Architect | George B. Rogers |
| Architectural style | Egyptian Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 84000694 |
| Added to NRHP | January 5, 1984 |
The Scottish Rite Temple, also called The Temple Downtown, is an old building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It used to be a meeting place for a group called Freemasons. Specifically, it was built for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.
A local architect named George Bigelow Rogers designed the building. He designed many buildings in Mobile around that time. The first stone, called a cornerstone, was placed on November 30, 1921. The building was finished in 1922. It is the only building in Mobile that still shows the Egyptian Revival style clearly.
The Scottish Rite Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 5, 1984. In 1996, a private person bought the building. It then reopened as a place for parties and events.
Contents
Building Style
The Scottish Rite Temple looks like buildings from Ancient Egypt. However, its design mixes these old Egyptian ideas in a special way. The front and north sides of the building look like Egyptian pylons.
What is a Pylon?
In ancient Egypt, a pylon was a huge gateway to a temple. It had two tall, thick towers that got narrower towards the top. Each tower had a flat top edge called a cornice. These towers were connected by a lower section with a main entrance.
Special Walls
The walls of the Scottish Rite Temple's pylons are "battered." This means they are wider at the bottom and slope inward as they go up. The south side of the temple is next to another building. This side and the back are plain brick and do not have the battered shape.
Entrance Design
The two main entrances, on the fancy east and north sides, were inspired by a gate at the Karnak Temple Complex in Egypt. This gate is known as the Bab el’Adb Gate. The east entrance has two sphinxes on either side. These sphinxes were made by a sculptor named Allen W. Barr.
Roof Features
On the roof, there are two tall, pointed structures called obelisks. These originally worked as chimneys for the building.
More to Explore
In Spanish: Scottish Rite Temple (Mobile) para niños
