I stopped by the Cleveland Scottish Rite building on my return trip from the League of Historic American Theatre’s national conference in Philadelphia. The venue has recently changed hands over the past two years and is under the operation of TempleLive, a group that is buying historic properties and using them as event centers. (https://www.templelive.com/). TempleLive is the subsidiary of the Beaty Capital Group, an investment firm with an interesting past. TempleLive’s most recent purchase was the Scottish Rite in Wichita, a significant loss for the Fraternity in terms of historical artifacts and material culture.
The Cleveland Scottish Rite has popped up on my radar multiple times over the past years, in both personal research and blog posts. It represents a single square in the quilt of American theatre history, as well as the life and times of Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934). I first made contact with Cleveland’s Scottish Rite secretary on my way to Cleveland. He was a very pleasant fellow. Although happy to meet with me, he could no longer show me the stage area, as the entire building was under the management of TempleLive.
The Scottish Rite Secretary shared the telephone number for the local TempleLive representative, urging me to schedule an appointment that day for a tour with her. She was very accommodating and graciously set a time to meet. In addition to daily administrative duties, the local TempleLive manager is also part of the overhaul team, even painting walls and cabinets as part of the ongoing renovation work. In addition to implementing new color schemes, she negotiates the contracts with the Fraternity and is their key contact. Her immediate supervisor specializes in managing entertainment venues, the two previously working together on at separate venue in Cleveland. She explained that the TempleLive protocol is hiring local individuals and maintaining a congenial relationship with the previous owner, now a dedicated renter.
Both the Scottish Rite representative and TempleLive host could not have been more gracious or accommodating during my visit. They each spent an ample amount of time explaining the transfer of the building from the Fraternity to a private investor and the necessary renovations that needed to occur prior to using the facility for public events, particularly Live Nation events. Live Nation Entertainment advertises as a “Global Leader in Live Entertainment. Artist Powered. Fan Driven” with over 200 venues, 35,000 annual concerts, 4,000 touring artists, and 93 million fans in 40 countries (https://www.livenationentertainment.com/). They boast, “On average every 16 minutes there is a live Nation event starting somewhere in the world.”
It is my understanding that Live Nation is solely involved with the stage entertainment only and not the rest of the building. Live Nation recently installed new trusses for the secondary lighting system on the main stage. The old lighting system is still in place, but Masonic Bodies can use the new system for a substantial fee. With the continued flickering and blackouts during my stage visit, however, it is possible that the new system has problems. My TempleLive host explained that the light issues had been a problem since the new system was recently installed. Hmmm.
Both of my hosts adamantly stressed the beneficial relationship between the Fraternity and TempleLive’s management, especially the generosity of the new owner allowing the previous owner to rent space in the building. I could not help think that the arrangement may be most beneficial to the new owner as there is no preparation for a new tenant, or any period of vacancy waiting for rental income. Yet the spin is more of generous landlord helping out struggling tenant.
My hosts were friendly, inquisitive, and sharing, yet something seemed off. In fact, as I walked through the building, I continued to experience a sinking sense of dread. It was the same feeling that I felt when the last painted setting left the Scottish Rite building in Fort Scott, Kansas; the soul of the space was gone. Interestingly, by the end of my two-hour visit, I still had no idea what happened to the historic scenery collection, who had removed the drops from the main theater or where they were currently stored. The backdrops went from “rolled up” to “in storage,” to “there may be a few still hanging.” The cathedral scene may be hanging – smart move for weddings on TempleLive’s part. There was a framed photograph of the scene that the Scottish Rite Secretary shared during my visit and both hosts stressed the beauty of the painting.
To put this all in context, however, here is my current understanding of what TempleLive does when investing in a Masonic property. First of all, they target historic venues because of the construction quality and layout, an aspect stressed by my Cleveland host noting, “buildings just aren’t made like that anymore.” Paying a fraction of the building’s market value, the new owner ensures that the various Masonic orders meeting in the space still have access as renters. In the case of Cleveland, that the Masonic bodies have a base rental fee and are up-charged for a variety of services, such as using the “new” lights on stage. This is brilliant, because you not only get a good deal on real estate, but you immediately have dedicated renters who have no incentive to find another location. They are not going anywhere anytime soon as securing another location and moving all of the ritual paraphernalia is a deterrent.
So let’s start from the beginning as explained by my host… the building changes hands and TempleLive focuses on getting the stage/auditorium ready to sell seats for touring and local performers. This makes sense as it provides an additional revenue stream beyond the Masonic orders. TempleLive invests in the theater areas first. In the case of Cleveland, the $725,000 is paid for the building and 5 million was solely sunk into theater renovations, making it immediately ready for performances and additional revenue. Again, the price was $750,000 for a historic building with 102,000 sq. ft. in a prime downtown location. Keep in mind, similar transactions have repeatedly occurred during the past decade, with Scottish Rite buildings changing hands to private investors for next to nothing, in some cases only $1. Yet almost all have the agreement that the Masonic orders can still meet in the building, often for a fee. After the theater is up and running, TempleLive focuses on renovating the remainder of the building. That is where Cleveland is at right now, moving onto the remainder of the building.
Now there is a second theatre space in the Cleveland Masonic building that has yet to be renovated. Some of the original scenery is still hanging. We did not lower the historic scenes, so I have no idea if they were manufactured by Sosman & Landis in 1909 or Toomey & Volland in 1919. I took as many pictures of the stage machinery as possible. Sadly, I doubt that retaining any historic scenery directly benefits TempleLive. If anything, it is likely to be an impediment to their standard protocol in creating spaces for touring productions.
To be continued…
