Masonic Temple Building (Marshall, Michigan)
The Masonic Temple Building in Marshall, Michigan, is a building from 1913. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Today it houses Dance Dynamics and Engelter Photography.
History
The first Masonic Lodge in Marshall was the St. Albans Lodge #20, chartered in 1847. Other lodges were also established over the next two decades, and by 1867 there were four lodges in the city. These lodges met in rooms located on the upper floor of the Leyden Plumbing Company. However, by 1869, they quarters had grown too small, and in 1871 they moved to a new lodge hall located on the floors above the Barginette Store. However, in 1875 the city suffered an economic crash when the Michigan Central Railroad moved much of its operations to Jackson, Michigan. It took nearly 50 years for the city to recover.In the early 20th century, Masonic organizations all over Michigan were expanding. In 1911, the Marshall Masonic lodges banded together to form the Masonic Temple Association, established for the purpose of building and operating their own temple. The Association raised funds and went through two rounds of bidding before approving a design by Frederick H. Spier in 1913. Construction started in May 1913 and was completed in late 1914. The temple was used by Masonic organizations until 1987, when the Masonic Temple Association was dissolved and the building sold for redevelopment.