- Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple
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Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple Grand Lodge of Quebec 
Montreal Masonic Memorial TempleAlternative names Grande loge du Québec General information Status Operational Architectural style Beaux-Arts Location Downtown Montreal Address 2295 Saint-Marc Street and 1805 Sherbrooke Street West Town or city Montreal, Quebec Country Canada Coordinates 45°29′41″N 73°34′59″W / 45.494645°N 73.582982°W Current tenants Various Masonic Lodges, Julien-Leblanc Traiteur and Centre De La Petite Enfance Genesis 87 Construction started 1929 Completed 1930 Inaugurated June 22, 1929 Height Top floor 7 Technical details Elevator count 2 Design and construction Owner Masonic Foundation of Quebec Landlord Masonic Foundation of Quebec Architect John Smith Archibald Awards and prizes Royal Architectural Institute of Canada First Award, Class I, Monumental Buildings Designated: 2001 The Montreal Masonic Memorial Temple is an historic masonic temple in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on the corner of Sherbrooke Street and St-Marc Street, in the Golden Square Mile district. Dedicated and officially opened June February 12, 1930, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2001, as an example of one of Canada’s most elegant buildings in the Beaux-Arts style.[1][2][3]
Contents
History
Main door of the Grand Lodge of Quebec flanked by the columns Boaz and Jachin.
The Masonic Memorial Temple was conceived as a meeting place for the Masonic order as well as a memorial to Freemasons who gave their lives during World War I, replacing a Masonic Temple that had existed in a mixed-use building on Dorchester Street since 1895. The order had renovations done in 1908 and began to raise funds for a new building in 1923. In 1928, they contracted architect John Smith Archibald, who had previously renovated the Dorchester Street Temple, to design a new temple and supervise its construction.
The ceremonial laying of the cornerstone took place on June 22, 1929, with thirty-six lodges and 2,000 Masons parading to the new temple from the Dorchester Street Temple. The Grand Lodge of Quebec met for the first time in the new temple on February 12, 1930, at its Sixtieth Annual Communication, on February 12, 1930.
Architect
Born and trained in architecture in Inverness, Scotland, Archibald came to Canada in 1893 under the employ of Edward Maxwell. Archibald and his colleague Charles Saxe then started their own firm until 1915. From 1915 until his death in 1934, Archibald mainly practiced alone. His major projects included a number of prominent hotels, such as additions to the Windsor Hotel, Château Laurier, Halifax Hotel, and the Hotel Vancouver. Other prominent commissions included the Montreal Forum, Baron Byng High School, Elizabeth Ballantyne School, the Queen’s University Gymnasium and Swimming Pool, Kingston (1930) and three Montreal hospitals: the Royal Edward Institute, the Montreal Convalescent Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital.
Design
Dedication Cornerstone dated 22 June, A.L. 5929
Libertas Detail
Veritas DetailThe facades on Sherbrooke and St-Marc streets and are covered with Queenston limestone. The main facade, on Sherbrooke, has a base made of rusticated limestone and features four openings as well as a prominent central entrance, flanked by two free-standing columns topped by terrestrial and celestial spheres. The main door is made of detailed architectural bronze. A decorative belt course defines the upper part of the base and consists of ornamental carving and words in relief: FIDES, VERITAS, CARITAS, LIBERTAS, SPES.
A December 1930 issue of Construction, "A Journal for the architectural, engineering and contracting interests of Canada" featured an illustrated article, praised the Temple:
Neither our great Canadian classicists nor such well-known American practitioners as McKim, Mead and White have produced anything finer in Grecian adaptation than this Montreal building. As a work of architectural merit it ranks with Henry Bacon’s Lincoln Memorial , John Russell Pope’s Temple of the Scottish Rite and McKim, Mead and White’s J.P. Morgan Library. The modern Canadian buildings that are nearest to its class are Cobb’s Toronto Registry Office and Lyle’s Bank of Nova Scotia, at Ottawa.
One year later, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada gave its First Award, Class I, Monumental Buildings, to the Montreal temple.
Conservation Project
On January 30 2010, the Honourable W. David Angus, Senator, has announced that the Government of Canada is delivering infrastructure funding of $425'000 to the Masonic Memorial Temple National Historic Site of Canada. [4]
References
- ^ Masonic Memorial Temple National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
- ^ "THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA COMMEMORATES THE NATIONAL HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MONTREAL MASONIC MEMORIAL TEMPLE". Parks Canada News Release (Government of Canada). 14 October 2006. http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/cp-nr/release_e.asp?id=1047&andor1=nr. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ Parks Canada: Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada: Masonic Memorial Temple National Historic Site of Canada, Montréal, Quebec
- ^ "Canada's Economic Action Plan Invests in Heritage Infrastructure at the Masonic Memorial Temple National Historic Site of Canada". Parks Canada News Release (Government of Canada). 30 January 2010. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadas-Economic-Action-Plan-Invests-Heritage-Infrastructure-Masonic-Memorial-Temple-1109697.htm. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
External links
Coordinates: 45°29′41″N 73°34′59″W / 45.4947°N 73.5830°W
National Historic Sites of Canada by locationProvinces Territories Northwest Territories · Nunavut · YukonOther countries France
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WikiProjectCategories:- Masonic buildings in Canada
- Buildings and structures in Montreal
- Masonic memorials
- Buildings and structures completed in 1930
- Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada
- Landmarks in Montreal
- National Historic Sites in Quebec
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