page_title: George Washington Masonic National Memorial
section_title: 1940s
hierarchical_section_title: George Washington Masonic National Memorial / Construction of the interior / 1940s
caption_attribution_description: English: Night-time exterior image of the upper floors of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, in the United States. The structure is capped by a step pyramid with seven steps. The light fixture atop the pyramid is in the shape of a double keystone (a shape which is of symbolic importance to Freemasons). The Grand Chapter of Virginia of Royal Arch Masonry donated the aluminum double-keystone symbol and light at the top of the building. The fixture, the largest of its kind in the world at the time, was in place by February 1929 but not yet illuminated (as exterior lighting systems were still being installed). The $17,000 light fixture is 19 feet (5.8 m) high, made of aluminum, and has its own independent power supply. Claude Haynes, a steelworker employed as a construction worker at the memorial since 1923 and a member of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, completed the light by installing the aluminum sheeting on it on February 8, 1929. The United States Department of Commerce provided, free of charge, equipment for lighting the exterior of the building and tower as an aid to aviation. The memorial's owners paid to have the equipment installed. In 1970, the city of Alexandria donated a back-up electrical generator to keep the exterior of the tower lit in case of blackouts. Additional lighting for the tower was also installed that year. The Grand Lodge of New York provided the funds to finish the work, and the final tower exterior illumination was completed in the summer of 1973.
context_page_description: The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, the first President of the United States and a Mason. The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt. The 333-foot tall memorial sits atop Shooter's Hill at 101 Callahan Drive. Construction began in 1922, the building was dedicated in 1932, and the interior finally completed in 1970. In July 2015, it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, and as one of the largest-scale private memorials to honor Washington.
  The memorial is served by the King Street–Old Town Metro station on the Blue and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro. The station is located about four blocks from the memorial.
context_section_description: In February 1941, the association reported its first big fundraising season since the memorial's dedication, receiving $100,000 in cash donations. In 1941, the association raised an additional $70,000, leaving it with total funds on hand of $225,000. By now, the total cost of completing the structure had risen to $6 million. The GWMNMA agreed to spend $60,000 in 1942 in order to finish the south lodge room on the second floor and dedicate it to the Blue Lodge. The sum also would cover the cost of finishing the room in the southwest corner of the second floor to house the Alexandria-Washington Lodge's Washingtoniana. Five empty lots on Shooter's Hill were also purchased in 1942, so that a large building could not be built next to the memorial.  Additionally, the United States Department of Commerce provided, free of charge, equipment for lighting the building and tower as an aid to aviation.  The association paid to have the equipment installed.  In February 1942, Representative Sol Bloom donated an oil painting of Washington in full Masonic regalia to the memorial that year as well.  Bloom was a member of Pacific Lodge No. 233 in the state of New York and had served as director of the Washington Bicentennial Commission.  Artist Hattie Elizabeth Burdette painted the picture in 1932.  Actor Tefft Johnson modeled for the portrait, posing in the Masonic apron and wearing the same jewel Washington himself had worn. The chair in the painting also belonged to Washington and the pedestal and background cloth belonged to the Alexandria-Washington Lodge.  The painting had been used to advertise the Washington Bicentennial and Bloom donated it to the memorial in memory of his wife (who had died in 1941).
  The Blue Lodge room and Alexandria-Washington Lodge replica room were finished in late 1942. During the following year, one of the granite columns in the memorial cracked and was repaired.
  Work on the interior did not really begin in earnest until after the war. It was not until May 1945 that the room dedicated to the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the Shriners) on the north side of the first floor was begun. Placed in the finished room was an original oil painting of Shrine co-founder William J. Florence (valued at $5,000), a copy of the Shrine's Ritual in the handwriting of co-founder Walter M. Fleming, a collection of jewels, and other items. In time, the Shriners would furnish two more rooms on ground floor at a total cost of $168,000. In 1946, the association received a major donation of about $154,700 which went to its maintenance fund (which now had to be at least $3 million to generate enough funds to keep the structure maintained).
  At the GWMNMA's annual meeting in February 1947, the Alexandria-Washington Lodge Replica Room was dedicated.  The association also voted to allot one of the rooms in the unfinished tower to the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (also known as "the Grotto"), which had raised $25,000 to finish the room. The Supreme Council, Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction, USA) donated $100,000 to finish the north lodge room on the second floor and dedicate it to Cryptic Masonry.  Prior to this donation, the association was unsure whether appendant bodies of Freemasonry should be allowed to occupy rooms in the memorial.  The Southern Jurisdiction's donation effectively ended this debate. It also encouraged many Grand Lodges (state organizations) of Masonry to make large donations to the memorial, bringing new life to the memorial's fund-raising efforts.  The association also agreed to expend funds to build a kitchen and dining room, hang bronze doors on the first floor and install bronze grillwork for the heating and ventilation system on the first floor. Two other major decisions were made in 1947 as well.  Long-time memorial architect Harvey W. Corbett presented his plans for completing the memorial's interior and sculptor Bryant Baker discussed his plans for a life-size statue of George Washington to adorn the memorial hall. The Order of DeMolay, the young men
caption: The U.S. Dept. of Commerce donated equipment in 1942 to have the exterior of the building and the keystone light atop it lit.
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