Premiere Home Stagers had an opportunity to visit a local landmark, the Madison Masonic Center.  Landmarks are unique to the neighborhood and the city in that they hold traditions and history to be retained and remembered.

History of the Madison Masonic Center  by Michael T. Heitke, Director of the Robert Monteith Masonic Library and Museum

“In 1891, the First Presbyterian Church on Wisconsin Avenue was purchased and remodeled into a Masonic Temple.  In 1915, Brothers James and Edward Law, of Law and Law Architects, drew up plans for a new Masonic Temple.  World War I interrupted the plans for a new Temple.  After the war, Law and Law Architects drew up new plans for an even larger Temple.  In November 1922, the plans were announced to build a new Masonic Temple that would cost at least $500,000. On the afternoon of May 14, 1923, the first shovel of earth was lifted by Brother John H. Corscot which started the construction of the new building.”
    ” The Masonic Auditorium is Madison, Wisconsin’s best-kept secret.  This impressive facility provides a grand setting for live performances or presentations.  Complete with its original acoustics and fixtures, and an arched stage, the majestic ambience of this room is breathtaking.”
“The Madison Masonic Center is home to a magnificent Wangerin pipe organ (1926, Opus 387) … a gem of a musical instrument. This wonderful pipe organ is housed in our auditorium and is one of just three of its kind and age in the state of Wisconsin.”

Library/Museum

According to Wikipedia, “Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that arose from the loose organization of medieval masons (i.e. stone workers) working in the medieval building industry (i.e. craft workers involved in medieval stone work). Early organizational forms included ‘lodges,’ incorporations, and craft guilds.  While Freemasonry has often been called a ‘secret society‘, Freemasons themselves argue that it is more correct to say that it is an esoteric society, in that certain aspects are private.”

“Two of the principal symbolic tools always found in a Lodge are the square and compass. Some Lodges and rituals explain these tools as lessons in conduct: for example, that Masons should ‘square their actions by the square of virtue’ and to learn to ‘circumscribe their desires and keep their passions within due bounds toward all mankind.’ ”

George Washington

“Candidates for regular Freemasonry are required to declare a belief in a Supreme Being, the “Great Architect of the Universe”. However, the candidate is not asked to expand on, or explain, his interpretation of a Supreme Being.”  Our first U.S. president, George Washington, was a freemason.

Regarding local landmarks, some properties, with limited historic impact, can be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Owners of a property can refuse a nomination and prevent that property from being designated. Owners should keep in mind that State laws or local ordinances may affect National Historic Landmarks if these legal mechanisms recognize and protect Landmarks, independent of Federal law.