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. 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

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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 • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list.

Location. 47° 30.33′ N, 111° 17.545′ W. Marker is in Great Falls, Montana, in Cascade County. It 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.

Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana in Russell Country. It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within

Masonic Temple and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019

2. Masonic Temple and Marker

The marker is to the left of the right entrance.

walking distance of this marker: Dubbs Block (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lemon Boarding House (approx. ¼ mile away); First United Methodist Church Parsonage (approx. ¼ mile away); Methodist Parsonage (approx. ¼ mile away); First Methodist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); St. Ann's Cathedral (approx. ¼ mile away); F.W. Woolworth Building (approx. 0.3 miles away); C.E. Davis Residence (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Great Falls.

Masonic Temple image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 19, 2019

3. Masonic Temple

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 411 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 23, 2019, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.