Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-05-20

Lodge above. where the worlds Great rcbi.
tect lives and reIgns forever"
The following hymn, to the tune of .sAe,er.
lea" composed for the occasion by Broher
John Edwin Mason, was sung:
Great God of love and light.
With all Thy grace and might,
Descend and fill
Our hearts with JOY and praise
For these long cherished DAYS,
And lead MS in Thy ways
With all Thy Will.
Now on the level meet,
While brethren all repeat
The solemn vow:
And on the square we'll part
While manly tears will start.
And guide each throbbing heart
To praises now.
With all our powers we mean
10 keep the memory green
OF Washington:
Here, where his name is dear
Wen drop silent tear,
And tenderly revere
Our countrys SON.
The Temple now we build,
We pray may soon be filled
With Masons true;
Within may love abound,
On true fraternal ground,
And charity be found,
And friendship TOO.
Then let us raise onr voice.
And evermore rejoice
For Masons' art;
Let the Chief Architect
Our hearts and work inspect,
And pardon each defect,
While now we part.
The Grand Chaplain REV. Mr.. CoOmbS)
offered lervent prayer. and the Deputy u rand
Master received from the Grand Marshal the
Colleen Goblet, containing Corn. and spread
he corn upon the stone, saying: 'May the
heartbs of the workmen employed in this un.
dertaking be preserved 10 them, and the Su-
preme Grand Architect bless and prosper their
labors." I here shall be handful of corn in the
earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruits
thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of
the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.
The Grand Marshal presented the Senior
Grand Warden the cup OF wine, who pours il
upon the stone, saying: MAY plenty be
showered down upon the people of this city.
and may the blessings of the bounteous Oliver
OF all things attend all their philanthropc I'M
deliakings. And Wine that maketh glad the
heart OF man: and oil 10 make his face TO shine;
and bread. which strengthened mans heart.
The Grand Marhal presented the cup of oil
TO the Junior Grand Warden, who pours it
upon he stone, saying, s.NIay the Supreme
Ruler OF the world preserve this people in
peace. and youchsafe TO them the en- ioynent of
every blessing And Jacob set up pillar in
the place where he talked with him--yen a
pillar of stone, and he poured drink offering
thereon. and he poured oil thereon.
Grand Master.-"May corn, wine and oil,
and all the necessaries of life, abound among
men throughout the world; and may the bless
ing OF Almighty God be upon this undertake
ing, and may the structure here to be- erected
be preserved 10 the latest ages, in order that il
may promote the humane purposes for which
IL is designed
The Grand Master presented the implements
TO the architects, saying: ITO you. brother ar
chitects. are confided the Implements of opera
tive Masonry, with the fullest confidence that,
by your skill and taste, fabric shall arise
which shall add new lustre to our honored
city. May it endure for many ages, a monu-
ment of the liberality and beneyolence OF ITS
founders.
After an appropriate piece of music had been
Performed by one of the bands, Hon H. p.
Cromwell, Of Illinois, p. G.. NJ, was intro
duced, and delivered an Grafton, and the exer.
cises We're closed by the doxology being sung
and the benediction given. The line was then
reformed and proceeded along + street to 5th.
to La. avenue, TO Sd, to Pa. avenue, 10 9th, 10
the hall, where it was dismissed.
THE TEMPLE.
For the purpose OF eIecting this hall or tenn
| pie, an act Of incorporation was passed on the
| 26th OF April l-6i, tor the Masonic Hall Asso-
citation. the capital stock being So 0,G00 yided
| into shares of so each. Each Masonic body
appointed one corporater, and the association
was immediately organized. While the war
was in progress the subscriptions came IN
slowly, until the board purchased the excellent
lot on the northwest corner of Ninth and +
streets, opposite the Patent Office. This selec-
ton al a low price on one OF the most desirable
corners in the city, gave such confidence to the
| owners of stock that liberal subscriptions were
made at once. The price was Sl0,UOO, TO be paid
| IN instalments. Through the energy and per-
| severance OF the Directors, large subscriptions
| have been made the past year, enabling the
board TO begin the work. Last fall the build
ings on the lot were removed, and a solid fouh-
| dation put IN, on which The building Will b.
| Immediately started.
The original idea of Hiding with brick has
| been abandoned, and the substitution of stone
has pleased the craft generally, as it Will give
so much finer edifice, ard be more suitable
| for the purposes of Masonry. Contracts to
| were made with Sir knight Nicholas Acker,
for the sum of S:Se 500, every dollar of which he
| takes in stock. The framework for the Win
dows and other wood work has been contracted
by Brother w. b. Downing, for S2,5OO-all but
1 $50 taken in stock. The iron work for the
windows will be cast to SUIT the architeotu OF
The building. The architects OF the Masonic
| Temple are Messrs. Cluss and Kammerh ue Der,
l whose reputation in Europe and America IL
| well known, and who Will se that 1t will be
worthy Of the fraternity in the National Capital,
l where Masons from every part Of the civilized
| world visit the Lodges, Chapters and Com :
| manderies. when called TO Washington on
| business or pleasure.
The lot on which the Temple will be erected
is 80 feet on 9th street and 1872 feet on street,
with an ell 50 feet deep. The basement already
roy ided for in the laying the foundation, is
| and II suitable for q first-class dining hall and
/ restaurant like the magnificent ST. Georges.
under the Masonic Temple at Boston, where
| creams, and Refreshments. The basement will
/ give ample room for the modern steam. heating
l apparatus, with independent and separate heat
ing power for each room IN the building. This
| consists of ranges Of steam pipes inclosed in
L brick work. covered in re.proof, and fed by
fresh air from outside. The low pressure
| steam principle has been adopted to prevent
1 injury being done by the remotest possibility OF
| leakage Of pipes. To insure constant change
| Of air in the frequently crowded rooms, these
| heating surfaces are located In the basement
| and comm unicste by means OF tin-Iined well
| isolated brick hues with registers opening i'm
| the rooms above. A 1ne kitchen, with the
| NEST extensive ranges for cooking, commuui.
II
/ will be in the basement-also provided WITH
..n nmh- N aifersn comes citing with all the unneJ