Great Falls in Cascade County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Masonic Temple
Great Falls West Bank Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019
1. Masonic Temple Marker
Inscription.
Masonic Temple. Great Falls West Bank Historic District. Freemasons trace their history to the stonemasons of Medieval Europe, an association referenced in the design for the Great Falls Masonic Temple. Constructed in 1914, the three-story building features a dramatic central tower and steep gable bays that rise above the roofline. Those features evoke Tudor England, as do the arched doorways and the narrow, multi-paned windows surrounded by stone. Festive, multicolored brick, stone, and terra cotta and heavily bracketed balconies echo the Spanish style. Montana architects associated that style with recreation. Indeed, in addition to providing office and meeting space for Great Falls’ Masonic lodges, the building featured a banquet hall, billiard room, stage, ballroom, and card-playing parlors. Johannes Van Teylingen designed the building, which cost $100,000 to construct. Then a young draftsman employed by architect W. R. Mowery, Van Teylingen would become a well-known architect. This building suggests why. For its design Van Teylingen used architectural symbolism to create a monument, both to the Masons’ mythic past and to their place in the social, cultural, and civic life of Great Falls.
Freemasons trace their history to the stonemasons of Medieval Europe, an association referenced in the design for the Great Falls Masonic Temple. Constructed in 1914, the three-story building features a dramatic central tower and steep gable bays that rise above the roofline. Those features evoke Tudor England, as do the arched doorways and the narrow, multi-paned windows surrounded by stone. Festive, multicolored brick, stone, and terra cotta and heavily bracketed balconies echo the Spanish style. Montana architects associated that style with recreation. Indeed, in addition to providing office and meeting space for Great Falls’ Masonic lodges, the building featured a banquet hall, billiard room, stage, ballroom, and card-playing parlors. Johannes Van Teylingen designed the building, which cost $100,000 to construct. Then a young draftsman employed by architect W. R. Mowery, Van Teylingen would become a well-known architect. This building suggests why. For its design Van Teylingen used architectural symbolism to create a monument—both to the Masons’ mythic past and to their place in the social, cultural, and civic life of Great Falls.
Erected by The Montana National Register Sign Program.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture
Location. 47° 30.33′ N, 111° 17.545′ W. Marker is in Great Falls, Montana, in Cascade County. Marker is at the intersection of Central Avenue and 9th Street North, on the right when traveling west on Central Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 821 Central Avenue, Great Falls MT 59401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 19, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 23, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 191 times since then and 8 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on December 23, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
