Part 704: The Louisville Scottish Rite, 1895
I am getting ready to visit the Louisville Scottish Rite next week, and was perusing my records and old newspapers to familiarize myself with their history. One particular article from 1895 jumped out at me while searching for Scottish Rite Cathedral dedication ceremonies in newspapers.
Keep in mind that in the historical context of Scottish Rite theaters and degree productions my research has suggested that the first Scottish Rite cathedrals in the Southern Jurisdiction were in Little Rock or Oakland in 1896. That being said, several Scottish Rite Valley’s bordering the geographical demarcation between the Northern and Southern Jurisdiction were experimenting with stages in Masonic Halls well before that, including Winona, Minnesota. However, these spaces were not in buildings solely constructed for Masonic use and termed Scottish Rite cathedrals. Louisville, Kentucky, may have had one of the earliest stages in the Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite Cathedral.
The Wilkes-Barre Times of Pennsylvania, the Arizona Daily Star of Tucson, and the Akron Beacon Journal of Ohio all published the following article in 1895; it was a big deal:
Big Scottish Rite Dedication
Louisville, Ky., Oct. 15 – The Scottish Rite Cathedral of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, at Sixth and Walnut street was dedicated today. This dedication surpassed anything ever seen in Masonic ceremonies in this city. It was open to the public, and conducted with all the pomp, which the occasion calls for. The remainder of the inaugural week will be given in reunion, during which all degrees will be conferred. The new cathedral in point of general magnificence is surpassed by only two in the United States, those being cathedrals of the Grand Consistories of Illinois, at Chicago, and of Ohio, at Cincinnati.”
“All degrees will be conferred” at this period in time translated to “all degree will be staged.” This meant that Louisville constructed a Scottish Rite Cathedral before Little Rock and Oakland, California in 1896. Furthermore, the article cited that the Scottish Rite buildings in Chicago and Cincinnati only surpassed the building. Both Chicago and Cincinnati were well known for their Scottish Rite stages, each having started using theaters to stage Scottish Rite degrees around the same time. This is pretty exciting!
The Grand Consistory, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite was organized in Louisville, August 21, 1852, with meetings being held on the Southwest corner of Fourth and Jefferson Streets. By August 1876, the Louisville Scottish Rite occupied the Courier-Journal Building, located on Jefferson Street, between Third and Fourth Street. In 1894, the Louisville Scottish Rite Bodies purchased the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at Sixth and Walnut Streets. The church has been partially destroyed by fire when they acquired the building, and approximately $41,000 was spent on remodeling the facility. In 1895, it was dedicated Scottish Rite Cathedral. This was identical to what Little Rock and Oakland would do in 1896; remodel existing spaces to include a Scottish Rite theatre to fully confer, or stage, the degree work.
This Louisville Scottish Rite was used until 1923, when their new home was constructed at Brook and Gray streets.
As far as the theater, there is no indication of whom, or which studio, delivered the original scenery. However, Toomey and Volland note that they produced scenery for the Louisville Scottish Rite in 1910. Business records also indicate that Volland Studio delivered additional scenery to the Louisville Scottish Rite in 1951.
To be continued…
