Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1921 Thomas G. Moses, “A good Shrine contract at Hammond came our way and we will be able to put up something good.” Moses was referring to the Orak Temple Shrine in Hammond, Indiana. Members of the Ancient and Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.) met at Hammond’s Masonic Temple. The massive fraternal edifice, completed in 1909, was expanded and a large stage installed in 1921.
At the beginning of 1921, hundreds of Shrines participated in the installation of newly elected officers of Orak Temple Shrine that January (The Times, Munster, Indiana, 12 Jan 1921, page 1). The new leadership would immediately invest in membership experience that spring and on Jan. 13, 1921, the Masonic Building Association let out contracts for the construction, fixing dates for the various stages of construction (The Times, page 1). The excavation and foundation work was scheduled to be completed by March 1, with the entire building under a roof by May 15, 1921. The three-story structure included an immense auditorium in the northwest section. The design of the stage was 40 feet wide by 27 feet deep with “all the accessories found in big theatres.”
The scenery contract may have been entered into with the Shrine, but there were likely other scenic pieces for Masonic groups that met in the building. Scottish Rite scenery contracts frequently included Blue Lodge, York Rite, DeMolay and Shrine scenery.
By March 19, 1921, cornerstone laying ceremonies were conducted at the Masonic Temple. “The Times” reported, “The entire front of the old temple has been torn away so that the wall of the new structure will be in uniform in its Muenich court frontage. The steel work in the left background encloses the opening of what will be the huge stage of the auditorium” (22 March 1922, page 1).
On March 22, 1921, “The Times” reported, “The corner stone, a mammoth block of four feet square, will be placed…The old stone has been removed and the steel box and contents, placed in the cavity within a stone years ago. will be placed in the new stone along with another box containing newspapers, documents and other articles of interest.” The building was sold in 1999 and eventually demolished a decade later. The structure didn’t even make ninety years. It is always difficult to read about the efforts of one generation, and the to trace these efforts dismissed by others.
The two time capsules were recovered in 2009 amidst the rubble of the demolished building. The capsules contained a variety of artifacts that included newspapers, yearbooks, architectural plans, photographs, moonshine, whiskey labels, lodge coins, a box of laxatives and horse manure. Attached to the small box of manure was a note explaining that future generations might not understand its significance with the advent of the automobile.
To be continued…
