Washington Lodge No. 21

A Geographic History - (1800 – Present)

By W:. Bro. Andrew Kozinn, Lodge Historian�and�Bro. John J Chalkley�(first presented 16^th January 2025)

Timeline:

1800�No. 3 South St

• Communications on the 1^st and third Tuesdays of each month
• Hamilton-Burr duel in 1804
• Shared room with Phoenix Lodge with whom we had broken away

1809�68 William St

• Union Hall a/k/well-known Old Adams Hotel or “The Assembly Rooms”
• A well-known gathering place at the time

(Image: William St in 1800)

1812�Sun Building – Tammany Hall�(Park Row & Frankfort)

• The cornerstone of this building bore the name of two of our members, Matthew L. Davis (present at the Burr-Hamilton duel) and Richard Kip, a descendant of Hendrick Hendricksen Kip, for whose farm the neighborhood on the East Side of Manhattan was named
• Lodge grew substantially with 33 candidates initiated in one year. That growth ended after the Saul Simons affair, in which a group broke off to form Concord Lodge # 304

1820�St Johns’ Hall�(Frankfort St)

• On September 23, 1822 the Lodge passed a resolution prohibiting the use of masonic symbols on members’ business cards and signage under penalty of expulsion
• September 1826—The Morgan Affair. Lodge membership collapses from 70 members in 1827 to 11 members by 1836

1827�New Masonic Hall�(east side of Broadway, Duane/ Pearl St)

• Rent $100 per year, considered a bargain as the rooms faced Broadway and included gas lighting for the first time
• Building considered the grandest in New York at the time
• Brother Mordecai Myers Grand Marshall for cornerstone laying
• Building funded through purchase of shares for $10 Washington Lodge bought 20 shares for $200
• Building later changed name to Gothic Hall and torn down in 1856
• 1830—only 3 brothers initiated; 17 dropped from rolls for non-payment of dues
• Communications reduced to once per month, but met only 4 times in 1832

Timeline:

Timeline:

1836�Howard House�(Broadway@ Howard St)

• Rent only $50/year
• Trustees of Masonic Hall don’t want to let the Lodge out of their lease. Lodge paid $50 to settle dispute
• Had to move all Masonic furniture
• Moses Myers was proposed for affiliation. Prominent businessperson who was referred to by Henry Clay in the US. Senate as “The Jew.”
• Panic of 1837 - Washington Lodge and Lafayette Lodge share the same space
• Membership grows again and in 1841, two meetings per month resume

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Image: Broadway between Howard and Grand Street 1840

1850�Freemasons Hall�(600 Broadway)

• No 50^th Anniversary celebration, but lodge was proud that it was healthy with $214 in the bank!
• Matthew L. Davis, a founding member, dies in 1850
• In 1854, Lodge pays for stone with inscription to be donated to the building of the Washington Monument

Image: Broadway @Spring in the 1850’s

1856

Pythagoras Hall

(Canal St)

• Stayed only 2 months!

Image: Canal and Bowery in 1860

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1856�The Chinese Building�(541 Broadway)

1858�594 Broadway�(tenants of Holland Lodge)

• Big 60^th anniversary celebration at the Apollo Rooms with Mordecai Myers, the only surviving founder, in attendance

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Image: Broadway, east side below Houston in 1850’s

Timeline:

Timeline:

1861�8 Union Square�(leased from Holland Lodge)

• Rent $600 per year (intention to sublease)
• $1,000 allocated to fix up the rooms
• Fire consumers the interior of the entire building during construction
• Holland Lodge lost $6,000 in furniture and improvements, $4000 of which was covered by insurance
• Washington Lodge lost $1,400 and 8 other Lodges lost over $4000, none of which was covered by insurance. All Washington Lodge records up to that time destroyed
• Successful fundraiser held at Irving Hall, 15^th and Irving Place. Lodge rooms restored for our own use and leased to 14 lodges. Lodge balance was $2,264 at end of 1867
• 186 members

1869�289 (275) Bleecker St

• Cost $4,000 to fix-up
• 3^rd Floor and 4^th floor walkup – lost many members and subtenant lodges
• Neighborhood had changed from genteel to industrial
• Only 70 members and no funds

1888�The Decker Building�(33 Union Square)

• Rent $120/year
• Building torn down in 1892

1892�Carnegie Hall�(57^th St & 7^th Ave)

• Considered not safe for our purposes!
• Stayed only 2 months!

Image: Carnegie Hall, 1895

Timeline:

Timeline:

2025

1892�German Masonic Temple�(220 East 15^th, Rutherford & 3^rd Ave)

• Secretary is taken ill; funds disappear
• Master dies in office
• Talk of surrendering the Lodge’s Charter!

Image: German Masonic Hall c. 1900

1897�Masonic Temple�(23^rd St & 6^th Ave)

• Building had been built in 1875 at a great loss with $478,000 having to be raised from donations
• Lodge meets once per month
• Bro. Rudolph Holde, Past Master of Shakespeare Lodge, revives lodge through strong organizing ability, knowledge of ritual, and appeal to disaffected Brothers from other Lodges.

Image: Masonic Temple, 1895

1898�Grand Opera House�(Willard Room – 23^rd St & 8^th Ave)

• Meetings on the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th Fridays
• Banquet at the Lexington Assembly Room (58^th and Lexington) held for 100^th Anniversary of Lodge costing $684
• In 1901 Brother William McKinley assassinated
• Big 110^th Celebration in Masonic Hall

Image: Grand Opera House, 1895

1910�Masonic Hall�Grand Lodge of New York (71 W 23^rd St)

• First meeting was held on Thursday March 3^rd, 1910
• Began current schedule of the first, third Thursday of the month
• Current Masonic Hall was designed by Harry P. Knowles, the 19-story building was constructed between 1907-1911 (24^th St entrance, used by our Lodge added in 1909 and final additions to building completed in 1911)
• The inclusion of office spaces for rent within the building was a strategic decision to generate ongoing revenue, ensuring the financial sustainability of the Grand Lodge. This approach allowed the Masonic Hall to maintain its operations without solely relying on member contributions
• We currently occupy the French Doric Room some 125 years later! (prize given for first person to find the correct date that we moved to the French Doric Room!)

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Image: Masonic Hall, 1911

Timeline:

2025

With special thanks to W:. Bro Robert W. Reid’s book “Washington Lodge, No. 21 F. & A.m., And Some Of Its Members” (published 1923)

THE END...�(Of the beginning!)