List of Masonic buildings in the United States identifies notable Masonic buildings in the United States. These have served as meeting halls by

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

s or other

Masonic bodies There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders, Concordant bodies or ap ...

. Many of the buildings were built to house Masonic meetings and ritual activities in their upper floors, and to provide commercial space below. In small towns, these were frequently the grandest and tallest buildings. Many of the buildings listed have received

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

status, either by being listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

(NRHP) or listed by various State or City preservation agencies. In 2021, more than 400 Masonic buildings are listed here. KEY

States

Alabama

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Alaska

Arizona

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Arkansas

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California

Masons in California grew from 258 members in 1850 to over 63,000 in 1918, declining to 46,000 in 2019. :(compare to in :Masonic buildings in California)

Colorado

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Connecticut

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Delaware

Florida

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Georgia

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Hawaii

Idaho

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Illinois

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Indiana

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Iowa

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Kansas

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Kentucky

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Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

has been the site of several significant Masonic buildings.Henry Leonard Stillson and William James Hughan, editors (1906),
History of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons
'. Boston and New York: The Fraternity Publishing Company. Pages 248-250. In 1830, the

Grand Lodge of Massachusetts The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commonly referred to as the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and abbreviated GLMA, is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts ...

bought land on the corner of

Tremont Street Tremont Street is a major thoroughfare in Boston, Massachusetts. Tremont Street begins at Government Center, Boston, Massachusetts, Government Center in Boston's city center as a continuation of Cambridge Street, and forms the eastern edge of ...

and Turnagain Alley. A Temple was constructed on the site and dedicated in 1832, but initially could not be owned by the Grand Lodge because of legal limitations on the value of real estate that the Grand Lodge could hold. Turnagain Alley became Temple Place and the

Temple School Temple School was a Single-sex school, boys secondary modern in Strood, in England. It closed in 2009 along with Chapter Girls School when Strood Academy was opened. History In 2006, 2% of the pupils gained 5 passes with Maths and English at G ...

, established by

Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and av ...

, was housed there during the 1830s. The Temple also held a concert hall and was the site of many public lectures by

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...

, including his reading of '' The Transcendentalist'' in 1842. Masons used the Masonic Temple for meetings until 1858, when the building was sold to the

U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

for use as a

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

.A Boston Courthouse: Reminiscences of the Anti-Masonic Campaign Revived
''The New York Times'', May 19, 1885. (From the ''Boston Traveller'', May 16, 1885.) The government sold the building in 1885 and it was remodeled into commercial space for the R. H. Stearns department store. Beginning in 1859, Boston's Masons occupied a building at the corner of Tremont and

Boylston Street Boylston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, and its western suburbs. The street begins in Boston's Chinatown, Boston, Chinatown neighborhood, forms the southern border of the Public Garden (Boston) ...

s that was known as Winthrop House, and that was rededicated as "Freemason's Hall" in December 1859. That building was destroyed by fire in April 1864. A grand new Masonic Temple building, designed by Merrill G. Wheelock, was built in its place on the same site and dedicated in 1867. The second temple was also destroyed by fire in 1895 and replaced at the same location with a building designed by George F. Loring and Sanford Phipps, dedicated on December 27, 1899. Also in Massachusetts: :(compare to in :Masonic buildings in Massachusetts)

Michigan

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Minnesota

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Mississippi

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Missouri

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Montana

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Nebraska

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Nevada

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New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

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North Carolina

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North Dakota

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Ohio

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Oklahoma

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Oregon

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Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

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Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

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West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Federal district

District of Columbia

Insular areas

Puerto Rico

List of masonic buildings in Puerto Rico, an

insular area In the law of the United States, an insular area is a U.S.-associated jurisdiction that is not part of a U.S. state or the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia. This includes fourteen Territories of the United States, U.S. territories adminis ...

of the United States, include:

References

{{Lists of clubhouse buildings

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...