New Britain herald., 1915-10-18
New Two Million Dollar Edi6Ce Of
 Scottish Rite FreemaSOnry

I
 The stately structure fashioned af- ter the famous mausoleum erected 1 for King Mausolus by Queen Arte- ! misia at Halicarnassus-one of the 1 seven wonders of the ancient world l is unique among the many magnificent l buildings in the national capital. It l has been under construction since l 1911 when ground was broken. It stands on Sixteenth street about one l mile from the White House on the l capitals finest boulevard and in 1 section of the city where many Of the nations most celebrated public men have lived during their public 1 service in Washington
 PyramidaI Entablature.
 l Viewed from the exterior, on a plateau above sym mbo1ic flights of steps ] the structure presents plain base, | above which rises a lofty pyramidal cntablature supported by thirty-three massive columns.
 The approach to the main portal is by four flights of steps. Two colossal sphnxes, symbolic of Divine Wisdom and Power, are at the entrance. On the plinths of these figures are in- scriptions in Phoenician and in Egyptian hierogliphics. Just before the great door, let into the pavement, are two flaming swords, and between them the inscription "The Temple of the Supreme Council of the Thirty Third Degree of the Ancient and Ac- cepted Rite of F'reemasonry for the southern jurisdiction of the United States, Erected to God and Dedicated to the Service of Humanity. Salve ;,.+0 foso the great door is "Freemasonry Builds Its Temples in the Hearts of Men and Among Nations" A placque on the great door bears an oblong square with a rayed triangle in it's center and with the figures "33" in the center.
 Russian Walnut Used.
 Through the great door the Atrium, a large hall, flanked on either side by four massive f1uted pillars of polished green granite, is reached. A doorway on the left leads to the the apart ments of the sovereigns grand com mander another on the right to those of the secretary general. Both apartments are panelled from floor to ceiling with Russian walnut. In the center of the Atrium is a great marble table and on either side be- 1 tween the pillars four marble seats On the walls behind the pillars are pIacques bearing symbolic designs. ? Directly opposite the great door IS the grand staircase guarded on either side by the seated figures of Isis and Nepthys. Doors to the right and left of the staircase lead to the nprary and to the supreme council executive chamber. At the head of the stair
 at t1n hoP of the eclipse, two other flights, curv- ing to the right and to the left, lead to the door of the temple, in front of which is the marble seat of the grand tiler. inscribed, "Know Thysef.
 Temple Lofty Room.
 The temple is a lofty room in cube form each dimension measuring 70 feet surmounted by a dome supporting a skylight 100 feet from the level or the floor. In the temple are great arched windows, one on e1ther sloe and one. opposite the door, over the grand east. Each window is divided by two pallars of polished green granite, with the lower part screened | by a tracery of bronzed serpents. EX- tending around the room is fr1eze or 1 of black marble, bearing the lnscrlp- l ton, From the Outer Darkness or 1 Ignorance. Through the Shadows Of | Our Earth Life, Winds the Beautiful Path of Initiation Unto the Divine Light of the Holy Altar"
 At each of the four corners is a placque bearing an emblem of two | patterns, the square and compasses and the six pointed star in a circle | The apex of the dome is ornamented l by four double-headed eagles, one on
 each side with the tablets of the Ten Commandments between. High over
 the main doorway is the organ loft. Great Altar.
 In the center of the temple stands
 the great altar, a solid blocg of black
 marble veined with white, with four 1 horns at the corners. In the floor ] around the great altar is the inscrip-
 tion From the Light of the Divine
 Word, the Logos, Comes the Wisdom
 of Life, the Goal of Initiation"
 The cerem onies were performed by
 Sovereign Grand Commander George
 Fleming Moore, assisted by Lieuten-
 ant Grand Commander Charles E.
 Resenubaum and Sovereign Grand In-
 spectors General Charles F. Buck, of
 Louisiana; Ernest B. Hussey, of
 Washington; Trevanion w. Hugo, of
 Minnesota; John H. Cowles of Ken
 lucky; John w. Morris of West Vir- l ginia Adolphus l.. Fitzgerald, ot l Nevada. and Sam P. Cochran, o1 ! Texas, the next highest officers of the ! supreme council.
 Musical Service.
 A musical service was rendered by 1 the Scottish Rite chOirs of St. Louis ! Mo-, and of Louisville, Ky, With the