Title	Masonic Temple-217-219 East Main Street
Subject	Freemasons; Greek letter societies; Clubs; Libraries
Description	The laying of the cornerstone for this building took place on April 13, 1871. Besides official papers such as the charter of the Grand Lodge of the State of Indiana, there were placed in the cornerstone such things as: a paper containing the names of many of the pioneer citizens of Madison; a card containing the pictures of all the presidents of the United States; specimens of the silver, nickel and copper coins of the day; the copper plate taken from the cornerstone of the old lodge building on West Street and the coins taken from there, including one American silver dollar dated 1803, one half dollar dated 1818, one quarter dollar dated 1818, one dime dated 1821, one sixteenth of a dollar dated 1797, one copper cent dated 1820, and one half cent dated 1808. These were placed in a hermetically sealed jar with the intent that they remain there, "probably for centuries, unless some unforeseen accident caused the destruction of the building, the contents of the jar will never be looked upon again by any person now living, after the cap-stone is closed over it." The dedication of the building, built by John Temperly, took place on May 16, 1872. There were brass bands, a procession, speeches, and a banquet consisting of seventeen tables set with "all the dainties" of the season. There had been a deep fog that morning and many of the boats had been late in arriving. When they did, depositing some 400 guests, another grand procession was held to include the newcomers. In the early 1920s the public library was housed here on the second floor. In 1921 there was extensive work done on the building. It was modernized and refurbished making it one of the "most attractive lodge halls in the state for a town the size of Madison." Over the years several businesses have been located in the building including Drake's Music Store, Rousch's Book Store and for many years until the mid '90s, Steinhardt and Hanson. The lodge sold the building in the 1990s and it is in the process of undergoing a major renovation by the present owners.
Creator	Harry Lemen, photographer Eastman-Kodak Brownie Camera No. 2C model A, with No. 130 film.
Contributors	Madison-Jefferson County Public Library
Date	Picture taken 1927
Type	Negative (2-7/8" x4-7/8" )
Format	Scanned negative, 1200 DPI, online JPG saved at 72 DPI 1000 pixels on long edge with a MicroTek ScanMaker 9800XL. Scan is full frame of negative. No correction of film errors. Slight sharpness and contrast adjustments.
Identifier	"Lemen1049-masonictemple"
Source	RoundAbout Madison Madison Courier Evening Courier Daily Evening Courier
Rights	Permission to reproduce this image for other than personal use must be requested from the Director of the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library. Please contact at 420 W. Main Street Madison, IN 47250 (812) 265-2744