music.notes

“On the road again -
Goin' places that I've never been.
Seein' things that I may never see again
On the road again -
And our way is on the road again.

The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania

In a casual conversation with PGM Dan Irick in Albuquerque early in the spring we learned the the magnificence and beauty of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, and immediately place in on our 'To Do List' on the trip Philadelphia.

WOW! What an experience!!.

This Grand Lodge Building is located at 1 North Broad Street immediately north of Philadelphia's City Hall. What a prestigious location for this structure which occupies a full city block.

I have mentioned in our opinion the State of Pennsylvania is the Art and Cultural Center of the United States. You have seen the beauty of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh, the magnificent State Capitol in Harrisburg, and the aura of Art in Philadelphia, so one would expect nothing less from the Masons of Pennsylvania. This is a priority must for any visitor to the seat of our Nations History.

The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is open to the public, and they are thrilled to have you come and visit. The Tour takes approximately an hour, and is wonderfully narrated. You will not be proselyted nor given a petition for membership. Come and enjoy the splendor and art of this magnificent historical structure.

GL Buidding

There wasn't a view point, where I could catch a front picture of this structure. I needed Paul Wilson and his helicopter. But those Marines may be busy else where, so I'll substitute the image I found on the Internet for the front view.

Gl Penn

There are 100,000 Masons in Pennsylvania. Seven different Lodges, plus the York Rite, and Scottish Rite Bodies meet in the Grand Lodge building.

The building took 5 years to complete and was dedicated in 1873 at a cost of 1.6 million dollars. The interior art done by Brother George Hertzog was finished over the next 30 years.

There is the web site setup by the Grand Lodge, if you care to take their 'Tour'. They do offer some wonderful explanations of the building construction and the timing of the interior design.

As you wander through the pictures and descriptions that I have provided, may I draw two assisting facts to your attention. 1) you'll see Hyper Links to various web pages like the one below on the History of the Building. These hyper links direct you to the Pennsylvania Web Site for more detailed information. 2) When you notice the words Download beneath pictures that hyper link enlarges the picture immediately above the link. Also any pictures taken my me have my signature embedded.

Enjoy this tour.

Norm

The History of the Grand Lodge Building

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/historye.html

The Grand Foyer to the Grand Lodge.

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/gfoyere.html

My Masonic Brethren did you notice the Checkered Pavement?

EntryDownload

The Benjamin Franklin Room.

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/benfranke.html

Grand MastersDownload

A closer look at the ceiling and the art work in the Ben Franklin Room

Ceiling GM StudyDownload

Library and Museum

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/librarye.html

Library

The Oriental Hall

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/orientale.html.

On the Tour in each of these Halls or Lodge Rooms the Docent would activate an audio program giving the details of the architecture, and maybe something on Masonry or the work conducted in that particular hall. Being that I'm a Mason of 59 years, I might have been considered rude, but I more interested in taking these photographs than in listening to the lecture. Dottie paid attention and listened for me.

The Oriental HallDownload

The Gothic Hall

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/gothice.html

The Scottish Rite Bodies and Valley of Philadelphia meet in the Gothic Hall

Gothic HallDownload

The Iconic Hall completed in 1890

\http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/ionice.html

To give you a perspective on the size of this Hall, it is 64' in length, 41' in width and 21' in height.

You'll just have to bear with me on the glare of these lamps. They were set high for visibility and not for photography, and our tour was to learn of the building and its content and not a photo safari. I did find it interesting that the early Grand Master's paintings were full length, whereas after the 1930's they were bust paintings.

Download

This Clock on the Iconic Hall was built in 1874 and is still in daily use.

The Clock

Up a flight of winding stairs

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/hallwaye.html

Download

StairsDownload

The Grand Stair Case Second Floor

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/gstairs2nde.html

LandingDownload

andingDownload

Painting

The Egyptian Hall completed in 1889

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/egypte.html

Download

EgyptianDownload

Just look at the carpet and the detail in the Egyptian Hall

Carpet

The Norman Hall completed in 1891

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/normane.html

And of course my favorite!

Norman Hall

Norman HallDownload

Norman HallDownload

Norman HallDownload

The Corinthian Hall Finished in 1903

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/corinthe.html

This is a large Lodge Room being 106' in length, 53' in width and 52' in height. The detail of the finish and the ornateness was over powering. Our Docent related to us, that because of the Halls size it was only used for special occasions. It would be a holistic experience to sit in Lodge in this Hall.

The CorinthDownload

The CorinthDownload

Crointh

Corinth

The John Wanamaker Dining Room created in 1998

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/wanamakere.html

Dining Rom

Dining Room

Brother George Washington, Revolutionary Leader and our First President

GM StudyDownload

The First Attribute of a Mason

CharityDownload

As one departs for the exciting and breathtaking experience of touring the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, this will be the lasting memory of your visit.

http://www.pagrandlodge.org/tour/gstairse.html

ExitDownload

The State of Pennsylvania for Dottie and I is the Art State. This began in Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh University and then the spectacular Capitol in Harrisburg. It culminated in Philadelphia where Art is incorporated into the very fabric of the peoples daily lives and is especially displayed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

Oh! and while you are there please visit the neatest food court called Reading Station, where we had a choice of 50 or better Food Court Restaurants, plus one of the Nations oldest Farmers Market. This is a FUN Place!

Food court

Food Court

The walk from the Grand Lodge was only two blocks, and the artistic displays made it such a nice stroll.

Walk

We are now going to cross the Delaware River to the New Jersey Shores at Atlantic City and visit Washington's Crossing State Park. This is where General Washington led his troops on that Christmas night in 1776 that turned the tide in the Revolutionary War.

You are welcome to come and ride along with us.

Come on Willie sing us another verse, and we’ll move on down the road. 

Dl & NR 2013

Norm & Dottie