December 17, 2018

Masonic lodge in Central District considered for landmark nomination

Photo by Joe Mabel [enlarge]

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge was built in 1925 at 306 24th Ave. S. It is owned by the Prince Hall Masons, the largest group of masons of African and African-American descent.

Seattle's Landmarks Preservation Board on Dec. 19 will consider nominating as a city landmark the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge at 306 24th Ave. S. in the Central Area.

The meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. in Boards & Commissions Room L2-80 of Seattle City Hall at 600 Fourth Ave.

The Johnson Partnership prepared the landmark nomination application for DEP Homes, which is run by developer Cao Huynh.

John Lawrence McCauley designed the Beaux-Arts/Neoclassical-style Masonic hall. It was constructed in 1925 and was owned by the Rainier Masonic Temple Association. The hall was significantly altered in 1975 under the direction of architect Evvian Willis, and the 2001 Nisqually earthquake caused some cracking, the application notes.

In 1970, the city bought the building and surrounding parcels for potential redevelopment, which didn't occur. The building is now owned by the Prince Hall Masons, the largest group of masons of African and African-American descent.

Prince Hall, one of the lodge's founding members, was born between 1735 and 1738, according to the application. In the late 1740s, he was the slave of William Hall, a Boston leather worker who freed him in 1770. Afterward, he was a peddler and owned a small leather goods business.

In 1775, Hall and 14 other free black men joined a Masonic lodge established by British soldiers stationed in Boston during the Revolutionary War, but were denied full membership privileges. One sergeant later conferred limited privileges on the black members, who then established African Lodge No. 1 in Massachusetts.

The American Masonic lodges wouldn't grant the lodge a charter, so they petitioned the Grand Lodge of England. The African Lodge was granted full Masonic privileges in 1784. Prince Hall was named Worshipful Master of the lodge in 1787, a position he held until his death in 1807, when the lodge was renamed in his honor.

Today Prince Hall Lodges are recognized by most states. Worldwide there are tens of thousands of Prince Hall masons, with lodges in the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas and Liberia. Members have included Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington, Medgar Evers and former Seattle mayor Norm Rice.

McCauley, the Seattle building's architect, was architect of record for several significant buildings in the city, The Johnson Partnership writes. They include the Masonic Ark Lodge #126 in Columbia City (1920-1921), now the Ark Lodge Cinemas). In the International District he designed the Bush Hotel (1915-1916), Governor Apartments (1926), and Publix Hotel (1927-1928). and he was supervising architect for the King County Courthouse expansion in 1929.

The 16,800-square-foot Prince Hall property is zoned neighborhood commercial 3, with a maximum height of 75 feet. Commercial or residential projects are subject to Mandatory Housing Affordability requirements.

A call to DEP Homes about its plans, if any, for the site was not returned.

In Seattle, the landmark nomination process is required in certain circumstances as part of getting a land use permit if a structure could meet the criteria. Landmarks may be demolished only if the owner can demonstrate there is no reasonable economic use. They cannot be significantly altered without a permit from the landmarks board.

The application for the Prince Hall building is at https://tinyurl.com/ycfcrot4 under “Current Nominations.” Written comments should be received by Dec. 18 at Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, P.O. Box 94649, Seattle, WA 98124-4649.