Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes

by William D. Moore

In Masonic Temples, William D. Moore introduces readers to the structures American Freemasons erected over the sixty-year period from 1870 to 1930, when these temples became a ubiquitous feature of the American landscape. As representations of King Solomon’s temple in ancient Jerusalem erected in almost every American town and city, Masonic temples provided specially designed spaces for the enactment of this influential fraternity’s secret rituals. Using New York State as a case study, Moore not only analyzes the design and construction of Masonic structures and provides their historical context, but he also links the temples to American concepts of masculinity during this period of profound economic and social transformation. By examining edifices previously overlooked by architectural and social historians, Moore decodes the design and social function of Masonic architecture and offers compelling new insights into the construction of American masculinity. Four distinct sets of Masonic ritual spaces—the Masonic lodge room, the armory and drill room of the Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, and the Shriners’ mosque – form the central focus of this volume. Moore argues that these spaces and their accompanying ceremonies communicated four alternative masculine archetypes to American Freemasons—the heroic artisan, the holy warrior, the adept or wise man, and the frivolous jester or fool. Although not a Freemason, Moore draws from his experience as director of the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library in New York City, where heutilized sources previously inaccessible to scholars. His work should prove valuable to readers with interests in vernacular architecture, material culture, American studies, architectural and social history, Freemasonry, and voluntary associations.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 15, 2006

Reviews

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by the professor who I hope to have as my mentor for the next five years at Boston University, "Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes" is a historical, scholarly work that interprets architecture and material culture to better understand a specific group of people (freemasons and their relations), in a specific location (New York state), during a specific time period (1870-1930) in order to comment on big picture trends in American history. In many ways, I hope to replicate the structure of this book for my PhD dissertation for Mormon Temples.

William Moore successfully chronicles the rise in popularity of the various varieties of freemasonry (craft masons, Knights Templar, the Scottish Rite, and Shriners) during the turn of the century in America. His presentation and interpretation of their respective architectures and associated rituals demonstrates how the built environment reveals social ideals and historical trends. Specifically, this work demonstrates how various groups attempted to define, or in some cases re-define, masculinity in a modernizing world by tapping into the past through ceremonial re-enactments and connections to mythical narratives. As noted and understood by the participants themselves, masonry is not just about building buildings but also building men. [As an interesting sidenote, Joseph Smith said of constructing the Kirtland Temple in the 1830s: "We're not just building a temple here. The Lord is building us."] As a sub-thesis, Moore also demonstrates that women played a vital, supportive role in masonry through fundraising fairs (which allowed for temple-building) and more abstractly through encouraging and fulfilling the role of teaching and edifying boys toward manhood.