A History of the University District Masonic Building

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA; University Lodge No. 141, F. & A. M., Seattle, Washington ŠJune 14, 2020 and September 21, 2020, First Revision (The author claims copyright only on the written text of this scholarly work)

The Masonic Building, Circa 193 (Puget Sound Regional Archives)

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 ST. JOHN’S LODGE NO. 9: THE SPONSOR OF UNIVERSITY LODGE NO. 141 In 1904, just fifteen years after Washington gained statehood, Seattle was home to eight Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons. Five of the Lodges, St. John’s No. 9, Eureka No. 20, Arcana No. 87, Ionic No. 90, and West Gate No. 128 met at the Masonic Hall located at 2320 First Avenue in the Belltown neighborhood just north of downtown Seattle. The three other Lodges held their meetings in quarters located outside of downtown Seattle: Occidental Lodge No. 72 met in Ballard; Doric Lodge No. 92 met in Fremont; and Home Lodge No. 100 met in Georgetown. 1 Chartered in 1860, St. John’s Lodge No. 9 was the first Masonic Lodge established in Seattle and remains the oldest active Masonic Lodge in the city. On February 22, 1902, St. John’s received permission from the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington to vacate their rented Lodge room in the Knights of Pythias Hall located at the southwest corner of First Avenue and Pike Street and move to the newly established Masonic Hall.2 Designed by the architect Elmer H. Fisher and constructed in 1889, the Masonic Hall, 2320 First Avenue (former Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple), circa four-story, brick masonry building 1937. Puget Sound Regional Archives. on First Avenue between Battery and Bell Streets was originally constructed as the fraternal meeting hall for the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 3 The Odd Fellows occupied the building until January 1902, when it was purchased by the Seattle Commandery No. 2 of the Knights Templar for $19,500 (almost $600,000 in 2020 dollars). 4 The members of St. John’s Lodge No. 9 contributed $500.00 toward the purchase price of the building. 5 The various Masonic bodies of Seattle also reportedly raised an additional $5,500 (almost $166,000 in 2020 dollars) to properly furnish the new Masonic Hall. 6 This building was the sixth meeting place of St. John’s, and they would continue to meet there until the new Masonic Temple at Harvard Avenue and Pine Street was completed in 1916. 7 St. John’s Lodge No. 9 counted 327 members on the rolls at the close of 1903. 8 These Masons came from all walks of life and were engaged in a variety of trades and professions. They made their homes all across Seattle and also in several of the newer suburbs located at the outer edges 2

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Lodge Room in Masonic Hall, 1903.

Image on the left shows the east end of the room and the image on the right shows the west end of the room. Note the coal-burning heating stove just beyond the altar in the right-hand image. The American Tyler, 15 December 1903, p. 258. of the booming city. Some of the St. John’s members made their homes north of Lake Union in the new residential district around University Station, which had emerged around a stop on the Third Street and Suburban Railway electric streetcar line. 9 This streetcar stop was located at the northeast corner of the present-day intersection of NE 42nd Street and University Way (formerly known as 14th Avenue NE).10 THE EARLY DAYS OF UNIVERSITY STATION An 1855 federal land survey established the north south boundary line between Sections 16 and 17 of Township 25 North, Range 4 East, Willamette Meridian (W.M.). Present-day 15 th Avenue NE starts on the banks of Portage Bay and follows this boundary line northward to what is now Ravenna Creek. Under the Oregon Territory’s Organic Act, Sections 16 and 36 of each township were dedicated to public school purposes, so the area east of present-day 15 th Avenue NE and south of present-day NE 45th Street was set aside as the future location of the state university. 11 Christian and Harriet Brownfield arrived around 1867 and were among the first Euro-American settlers to establish a homestead in the area north of Portage Bay. In 1873 they received a patent for 173.57 acres of land situated in Section 17 of Township 25 North, Range 4 East, W.M. The Brownfield’s marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce in 1875, and over the subsequent years the Brownfield tract was gradually split up during a series of property transactions. On June 11, 1883, Wladyslaw DeKozlowsky and his wife Augusta platted the east half of the northeast quarter

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Township Plats of King County, Washington Territory, page 15, Township 25 North, Range 4 East, Willamette Meridian, 1889. Oliver P. Anderson & Company, Seattle Public Library Special Collections Online.

Christian and Harriet Brownfield’s land patent was located in the northeast quarter of Section 17, Township 25 North, Range 4 East. of Section 17 of Township 25 North, Range 4 East, W.M. as the Lake Side Homes Addition to Seattle. This plat was vacated on February 3, 1890, and four days later E. M. Carr filed a plat for the Kensington Addition to Seattle, which was located on the same tract as the vacated Lake Side Homes Addition plat. Later in 1890 the Kensington Addition plat was also vacated, and real estate developer Bro. James A. Moore (pictured to the right), his wife, and the Clise Investment Company filed the plat for the Brooklyn Addition to Seattle on December 29, 1890. Like the vacated Lake Side Homes and Kensington plats, the Brooklyn Addition plat encompassed roughly the east half of the former Brownfield tract and was bounded by present-day Roosevelt Avenue NE on the west, NE 45th Street on the north, 15th Avenue NE on

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Anderson Map Company’s King County Atlas, page 10, Township 25 North, Range 4 East, 1907. Oliver P. Anderson & Company, Seattle Public Library Special Collections Online.

Bro. James A. Moore’s Brooklyn Addition to Seattle appears in the center of the map, just west of the University of Washington campus. the east, and Portage Bay on the south.12 Bro. Moore was a member of St. John’s Lodge No. 9 until he moved to San Francisco, California in 1914.

While Moore set about grading and improving the new district, he aggressively marketed the new lots for sale with numerous advertisements in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.13 Even before he filed the plat for the new subdivision, Moore let a grading contract for part of Brooklyn in mid-November 1890, and about one month later he contracted with the Fremont Milling Company to install one mile of wood sidewalks.14 Moore also enticed potential buyers with offers of free “gift lots” to buyers who built a $1,000 house on the property (about $28,000 in 2020 dollars).15 While this amount of money may sound paltry to current residents of Seattle, this minimum improvement cost was roughly equivalent to the yearly wage of a carpenter working 60 hours per week in 1890.16 Sales of the new lots were apparently brisk, and the new neighborhood grew so quickly it was annexed by the City of Seattle in 1891. 17

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Moore’s newspaper advertisements also boldly proclaimed that electric streetcars would run into Brooklyn by February 1891, though in reality it would take slightly longer for the streetcars to arrive.18 Prior to 1891, the most reliable means of traveling between Seattle and Brooklyn were either by boat or via the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway. 19 David Denny’s Rainier Power and Railway Company completed the Latona bridge over Lake Union in December 1890, and the rails extended eastward along NE 38th Street and reached present-day Brooklyn Avenue NE in about 1892.20 This point served as the terminus of the line until 1893, when the streetcar tracks were extended north to Ravenna Park along present-day University Way NE. Unfortunately for the new residents of Brooklyn, both the trackage and finances of the Rainier Power and Railway Company were rickety.21 Amidst the financial Panic of 1893, the company collapsed into receivership almost immediately after the streetcar line to Ravenna Park was completed. The company was reorganized in February 1895 as the Third Street and Suburban Railway, which limped along until it was taken over by the Seattle Electric Company in 1900. 22

Topographic Map, 1894. United States Geological Survey.

This topographic map shows the Brooklyn Addition to Seattle situated between Latona to the west and Ravenna to the northeast.

The Third Street and Suburban Railway streetcar line is shown on the map running in a north south direction, and the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway is the railroad line shown along the north shore of Lake Union and Union Bay. 6

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 THE NEW CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON IS ESTABLISHED On a warm and clear July 4, 1894, hundreds of dignitaries and spectators converged on the new campus of the University of Washington. They arrived on foot, by streetcar, and by train to witness the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington lay the cornerstone of Denny Hall. 23 Designed by architect Bro. Charles W. Saunders, Denny Hall would be the first permanent building on the campus. 24 As Bro. Edmond S. Meany recalled later, the Grand Lodge delegation numbered 250 Masons, who were flanked by fifty-five Knights Templar, the Seattle Mayor and City Council, the university Board of Regents, several official speakers, and around seven hundred onlookers. This assemblage was entertained by the martial and patriotic airs played by the First Regimental Band until it was time to lay the cornerstone. At two-thirty in the afternoon, Grand Master Joseph Marion Taylor stepped toward the cornerstone, fashioned from granite quarried at Pittsburg, Washington and suspended from a derrick for the occasion. Most Worshipful Bro. Taylor, a member of St. John’s Lodge No. 9 and professor of mathematics and astronomy at the University of Washington, addressed the large crowd:

M.W.B. Joseph Marion Taylor, Worshipful Master of St. John’s No. 9 in 1889-1892 and Grand Master in 1894.

“From time immemorial it has been the custom of the fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons, when invited so to do, to lay the cornerstone with the ancient ceremony of the order of all public buildings, buildings erected for charitable purposes and temples erected for the worship of God. In conformity with that ancient custom, and by invitation of the honorable Board of Regents, the Grand Lodge of Washington has assembled here to-day [sic] to place in position the foundation cornerstone of the new building of the University of Washington.

Before entering upon so great and important an undertaking let us ask the blessing of God upon our labors.”

At the conclusion of the Grand Master’s remarks, Grand Chaplain and Past Grand Master Daniel Bagley stepped forward to offer a prayer. Most Worshipful Bro. Bagley was also a member of St. John’s Lodge No. 9 and had been associated with the University of Washington since it was founded on November 4, 1861, just over one year after St. John’s Lodge was chartered. After the

M.W.B. Daniel Bagley, Grand Master in 1861, Worshipful Master of St. John’s No. 9 in 1861, and Grand Master in 1861.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 prayer, the Grand Secretary read the list of articles to be sealed inside a copper box contained within the cornerstone. The Deputy Grand Marshal scattered corn upon the cornerstone, the Senior Grand Warden poured wine on it from a silver cup, and the Junior Grand Warden sprinkled it with oil. The granite block, inscribed with the date and the University of Washington seal, was levelled, and lowered into place with due Masonic ritual.25 After the cornerstone was laid in conformity with ancient custom, Bro. Edmond S. Meany, also a member of St. John’s Lodge No. 9, stepped forward to deliver his remarks to commemorate the occasion. Bro. Meany went on to become Worshipful Master of St. John’s Lodge in 1897.26 The laying of the Denny Hall cornerstone is one of several episodes of University of Washington history commemorated in a large mural in the Husky Union Building, which was painted in 1949 by the artist Ernest Norling. The cornerstone remains in place to this day, bearing a shining star and the Latin phrase “Lux sit,” which roughly translates to the English phrase “let there be light” or “let the light be.”27

W.B. Edmond S. Meany, Worshipful Master of St. John’s No. 9 in 1897.

Denny Hall, 1910.

Real photograph postcard image. Author’s collection.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 TWO NAMES FOR THE SAME AREA: UNIVERSITY STATION & UNIVERSITY DISTRICT The first classes at the University of Washington’s new “Interlaken Campus” were held on September 4, 1895.28 The university had 310 enrolled students, but since the dormitories on the new campus were not yet completed, the students were obliged to either commute to their classes by streetcar or reside in boarding houses located in the adjacent Brooklyn neighborhood or in the new University Heights, Petit’s University Addition, Shelton’s Addition, and University Park subdivisions located to the north and northeast of the Brooklyn addition. 29 As the new permanent residents and more transient students moved into these new subdivisions north of Lake Union between 1895 and 1915, the generally accepted name of the neighborhood changed. After the new university campus was established the name “Brooklyn” continued to be used until about 1905. Usage of the “Brooklyn” moniker declined between 1900 and 1905 as the name “University Station” came into more common use. Ultimately it was the United States Post Office Department that stamped out the old “Brooklyn” name for the district. The Seattle post office officials were early adopters of the “University Station” designation for the district, and the name became the official postal address for the district when the post office was relocated from Latona in 1902.30 The shift away from the name “Brooklyn” was also necessary since there was already an official Brooklyn post office in southern Washington State. 31 By 1899 the area was also occasionally referred to as the “State University District,” but this phrase was shortened to “University District” by about 1905.32 Based on the frequency it was used in newspapers between 1905 and 1915, the phrase “University District” appears to have been more commonly used in real estate advertisements, while the name “University Station” was apparently used more commonly by residents of the district and in newspaper accounts of activities in the area.33 Despite some attempts in the early 1920s to dub the area “UniverCity,” the “University District” moniker continued to became more common throughout the latter half of the twentieth century.34 However, the old names remained in occasional use: a retired University of Washington dean reported in 1940 that the older residents of the continued to refer to the community near campus as “University Station” or simply as “Station.” 35 EARLY BUSINESSES AND LIVING CONDITIONS IN THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT By 1895, the University District had thirteen commercial establishments, which included Mrs. Blackman’s boarding house and another operated by Mrs. Haury; the builder John Camehl; N. T. Joliffe’s dairy, J. J. Donaldson’s grocery, and J. R. Coats’ meat market; the general contractor William H. McDonald; the dressmaker Mary J. Green; landscape gardener H. H. Hindshaw; H. K. Jenson’s express and drayage company; Joseph Moynihan the poultry dealer; J. J. Smith’s real estate office; and the veterinarian George Standish. 36

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 While the street layout of the Brooklyn Addition appeared on the key map of the 1893 edition of the Sanborn fire insurance maps, detailed maps were not produced for the area until 1905. All the houses and other structures in the University District shown on the 1905 fire insurance maps were one or two-story buildings of wood frame construction. Small groupings of commercial stores and other businesses clustered around the intersections of NE 41 st, 42nd, and 43rd Streets with 14th Avenue NE. Other commercial establishments, including a large lumber yard, were located at the junction of 14th Avenue NE and the Northern Pacific Railway line, formerly named the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway.37 Living conditions in the University District were rustic well into the twentieth century. NE 45 th Street was little more than a path for the cows that wandered around loose in the district. 38 Grading of some of the primary streets such as 14th Avenue NE began in 1902, but they remained unpaved dirt thoroughfares which turned to mud during the rainy parts of the year and created clouds of dust during the dry months.39 Streetlighting was non-existent in the early days. 40

N.E. 43rd Street and Brooklyn Avenue N.E., looking southwest, circa 1905.

Image was published before January 1, 1925 and is in the public domain.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 The wood planked sidewalks along some of the streets provided some respite from the mud, but early residents recalled years later how it was impossible to keep your footwear and ankles clean during most of the year, and most found it wise to obtain rubber boots to wear over their shoes.

However, even the sidewalks could not always be relied upon, since they were a popular target of pranksters who ripped up the planks and carried them off on Halloween night. 41 To make matters even worse, the streetcar service did little to help the residents and university students travel into and out of the district, since the cars were small, uncomfortable, and arrived every 45 minutes on average. Some students reported that their round-trip commutes from their downtown lodgings to their classes took up to two or three hours. 42 Utility services were installed in the University District during the first decade of the twentieth century, which greatly improved the quality of life for residents in the district. The first sewer mains were constructed in 1902, and a large concrete septic tank for collecting wastewater from Latona and the University District was constructed the same year. 43 Additional sewer mains were laid along Brooklyn, 14th, and 15th Avenues in 1904.44 The first water mains were also installed in 1904 and were upgraded in 1907, which allowed residents to abandon their wells and enjoy fresh water piped in from the Cedar River by the City of Seattle Water Department. 45 Stone & Webster, an engineering and utility conglomerate based in Boston, Massachusetts, consolidated almost all of the streetcar lines in Seattle and merged them with an existing electric utility company to create the Seattle Electric Company in 1899. 46 The Seattle Electric Company and a handful of other smaller utility providers competed intensely for city contracts to provide streetlighting during the early 1900s. 47 Historic photographs indicate that the first streetlights in the University District were located at the major street intersections such as NE 42 nd Street and 14th Avenue NE. These large electric arc light fixtures were suspended from the same poles that carried the overhead power lines for the streetcars. 48 The Seattle Electric Company began to offer electrical power to residential and business customers in 1899. They were well-equipped for distributing electrical power since they owned the entire streetcar system in Seattle and the network of generating plants, substations, poles, and wires needed to power their streetcars. By 1902, the Seattle Electric Company held a virtual monopoly over electrical power distribution in the city.

After another Stone & Webster subsidiary tried to take over Seattle’s municipal water supply system, public sentiment shifted toward municipal ownership of both the electrical and water supplies. Seattle voters authorized the creation of a public electric utility in 1902, and by January 1905 all the existing electrical power circuits in Seattle had been transferred from the Seattle Electric Company to the Municipal Light and Power Plant. 49 By 1908, streetlighting and electrical power in the University District were supplied by the new publically-owned City Light utility system, and real estate advertisements regularly mentioned electric lights as a feature in houses in the district.50

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Seattle’s first telephone exchange opened in March 1883, but like the other utilities, telephones did not arrive in the University District until the first decade of the twentieth century. 51 Telephones in the district arrived around the same time as electricity began to be supplied by the Seattle Electric Company, since advertisements for Hansen’s express and baggage company and the University Grocery in 1903 included their telephone numbers. 52 By 1908, telephone numbers were regularly included in advertisements as more and more business establishments opened in the University District. Hardware stores, lumber companies, grocery stores, meat markets, bakeries, and newspaper offices were among the earliest telephone customers in the University District. 53 Telephone use in the district became more widespread by 1909, when the Seattle directory included numerous listings of University District businesses that had one or more telephone lines. 54 UNIVERSITY LODGE NO. 141 IS CHARTERED James Howarth Begg was born in Scotland on October 8, 1865 and immigrated to Canada as a young man by 1888 or 1889. 55 He arrived in Tacoma by 1893, where he declared his intention to become a naturalized citizen of the United States.56 Begg was working as a shipping clerk at a store in Tacoma when married his first wife, Ida Lewis Lister, on May 1, 1893.57 The Begg family relocated to Seattle by 1898, where he was made a Mason in St. John’s Lodge No. 9 that same year.58 The family frequently moved around Seattle and resided in seven different rented lodgings in as many years.59 They finally settled in the University District by 1904, where they resided at 5004 Brooklyn Avenue NE. By the time they moved to the house on Brooklyn Avenue, Begg was working as a bookkeeper and soon became secretary of the Nooksack Mining Company.60 James H. Begg served as Worshipful Master of St. John’s Lodge for one year during 1903 and 1904. Not long after his tenure as master was over, Worshipful Bro. Begg became interested in forming a new Masonic Lodge for the University District. 61 In the summer of 1904, Begg and a group of other Masons met at the real estate office of Bro. James R. Pattison and Bro. Fred A. Rood at 4217 14th Avenue NE.62 While the names of all the men present and the exact date of their initial gathering are unfortunately lost to history, during that meeting the decision was made to establish the University Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. 63 12

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Advertisement for Lavine & Thomas in Tyee, 1906, p. XXV. The black arrow points to the real estate office of Pattison & Rood, located at 4217 (or 4219) 14th Avenue N.E. (now University Way).

On August 29, 1904, twenty-six Masons attended the first formal organizational meeting at Sherrick’s Hall, which was located at the southwest corner of NE 42 nd Street and 14th Avenue NE and owned by Bro. Jacob D. Sherrick. Worshipful Bro. Begg was chosen as chairman of the meeting, and Bro. John C. Rathbun was appointed secretary. All the Masons present signed the petition to the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington asking for a charter. They also signed a request asking St. John’s Lodge No. 9 to recommend that the Grand Lodge grant the necessary dispensation to University Lodge. Nineteen of the Masons present contributed a total of $160 (about $4,600 in 2020 dollars) to help defray expenses. Finally, the assembled group elected officers to serve the Lodge while under dispensation. Worshipful Bro. James H. Begg was chosen as Worshipful Master, with Bro. Rolin T. Reynolds as Senior Warden, Bro. John C. Rathbun as Junior Warden, Bro. Henry P. Fish as Treasurer, and Bro. John W. Johnston as Secretary.64

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Sanborn fire insurance map, 1905.

The black arrow indicates the former location of Sherrick’s Hall at the southwest corner of N.E. 42nd Street and 14th Avenue N.E. (now University Way).

Library of Congress.

Seven more organizational meetings were held in September and October 1904 to work out the details of the new Lodge. During the September 19, 1904 meeting, Sherrick’s Hall was selected as the designated meeting place of the Lodge, and a monthly rental of $18 was arranged (about $515 in 2020 dollars). At that same meeting Bro. Sherrick agreed to make improvements to his meeting hall, which included enclosing the exterior stairway, building a storage closet in the preparation room, and installing a light on the south side of the building.65 Later in September, an organ was procured, and the necessary Masonic regalia and paraphernalia ordered from the M. C. Lilley & Company of Cleveland, Ohio.66 At the October 17th meeting it was announced that the application for a dispensation had been forwarded to the Grand Secretary. The matter of carpeting for the Lodge floor was also discussed that evening, though it appears that the Brethren settled on a temporary canvas floor covering.67 At the next meeting on October 24th, it was announced that the Grand Master had granted the dispensation on October 20, 1904. Acting on this positive news, the first meeting of University Lodge was scheduled for the first Monday evening in November and invitations to the event were sent to the other Masonic Lodges in Seattle.68

At 8:00 P.M. on November 7, 1904, the first meeting of University Lodge U. D. (Under Dispensation) was called to order at Sherrick’s Hall. Worshipful Master Begg opened the Lodge and a representative from the Grand Lodge read the dispensation to the Brethren of University Lodge, which had been signed by Most Worshipful Brother Edwin Hugh Van Patten, the Grand Master of Masons in Washington and Alaska. Three petitions for the degrees of Freemasonry were read during the inaugural meeting of the Lodge.

One petition was from Floyd Chapman, who was a carpenter by trade and a relative of architect and general contractor Bro. Joseph Chapman, one of the charter members of the Lodge. The other two were from a laundry truck driver and a merchant, which underscores the diversity of 14

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 occupations among Seattle Masons. Once the by-laws were read and other business dispensed with, Bro. Harley Homer Reynolds, a Fellowcraft Mason of St. John’s Lodge No. 9, was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason. The Lodge was closed after the minutes were read at the conclusion of the evening’s lengthy agenda. After the meeting, the Brethren and visitors enjoyed brotherly comradery and the refreshments provided by Bro. Joseph Chapman for the sum of $19.45 (over $575 in 2020 dollars).69 University Lodge No. 141, F. & A. M. was chartered on January 14, 1905, with Worshipful Bro. Begg as the first Worshipful Master.70 Due to some confusion surrounding the charters for University Lodge of Seattle and Anvil Lodge of Nome, Alaska Territory, University Lodge was initially chartered as University Lodge No. 140. The error was discovered by the Grand Secretary and was communicated to Worshipful Bro. Begg on July 10, 1905. 71 Thus, Anvil Lodge became Lodge No. 140 and University Lodge was renumbered as Lodge No. 141. 72 THE SEARCH FOR A BUILDING SITE Bro. Jacob D. Sherrick’s second floor above his drug store continued to serve as the home of University Lodge for about four more years after the Lodge was chartered. Bro. Sherrick followed through on the promise that he had made to the Brethren in September 1904 and made necessary alterations to the building, including covering the outside stairway, providing a light on the outside of the building, and constructing a storage closet in the preparation room of the Lodge room. He also constructed a two-story-tall addition to the rear of Sherrick’s Hall, circa 1906. the building that measured 37-feet by 40-feet.73 The black arrow indicates Sherrick’s Hall at the southwest corner of N.E. 42nd Between 1905 and 1907 both the University Street and 14th Avenue N.E. (now District and University Lodge were growing University Way). The building just rapidly, and the Lodge soon found itself sharing beyond is the old Varsity Inn, later space in Sherrick’s Hall with a variety of other Jann’s Elman Hotel and Varsity Café. occupants. Sherrick’s Hall was one of the only Asahel Curtis, photographer. Image was large spaces available for public gatherings in the published before January 1, 1925 and is district, so University Lodge shared the space with in the public domain. other fraternal organizations, church 74 congregations, and clubs. A small storage room on the first floor of the building served as the first location of the University Branch of the Seattle Public Library, and an ever-increasing number of public meetings and political rallies were also being held on the bustling second floor of Sherrick’s building.75 15

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 The first discussion about creating a dedicated Masonic Building for the University District occurred even before University Lodge received the official dispensation to meet from the Grand Lodge.76 On February 6, 1905, about three weeks after the Lodge was chartered, a committee was appointed to find a suitable site for a building.77 While no records remain of the potential sites that were considered, the search apparently was serious enough to cause the Lodge to renegotiate their rental agreement with Bro. Sherrick from a yearly rental to renting the hall on a meeting by meeting basis.78 The search for a potential site continued until late 1906, but ultimately no action was taken, and the committee was discharged.

On March 4, 1907, Worshipful Master Thomas K. Sidey appointed Past Master Begg, Bro. John E. Ballaine, and Bro. Fred A. Rood to search for a building site. 79 Worshipful Bro. Begg made an informal presentation of the committee’s findings on May 6, 1907 and announced that two lots at the northwest corner of NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE were available for $1,750 (about $47,700 in 2020 dollars). However, the forty-five members of University Lodge were reluctant to commit to expending such a large sum on the site.80 To make matters even worse, economic conditions in Seattle rapidly deteriorated as the year progressed, due to an economic retraction that began in early 1907 and became a worldwide financial crisis by the end of the year. Companies across the United States collapsed, throwing people out of work, which tightened the flow of cash.

Loan interest rates also skyrocketed, which further restricted the amount of money that could be raised for buying a site and building a temple. The Masonic Building project was once again abandoned, and the committee was discharged in January 1908. 81 The financial panic of 1907 ultimately went down in history as the worst economic calamity to befall the United States until the Great Depression.82 Local economic conditions began to improve during 1908. Real estate prices rose steadily, and the two lots at NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE, which had previously been offered for $1,750, now commanded the incredible price of $8,000 (almost $223,000 in 2020 dollars). 83 Another committee was appointed on September 7, 1908, consisting of Worshipful Master John W. Bailey, Bro. Fred A. Rood, and Bro. Henry P. Fish.84 The three quickly went to work, and on October 5, 1908, the committee recommended that one of four lots on 14th Avenue NE be purchased.85 Of the four lots offered for consideration, the fourth lot on the list, Lot 22 of Block 1 of the Brooklyn Addition to Seattle, was ultimately selected by the Brethren of the Lodge for the site of their Lodge building.

A successful motion was made to appoint a Board of Trustees and form a stock company to purchase the selected property.86 Worshipful Bro. John W. Bailey, Bro. John F. Main, and Bro. Fred A. Rood were appointed as the first Board of Trustees of the University Lodge Building Association. 87 The trustees reached an agreement to purchase Lot 22 of Block 1 of the Brooklyn Addition from Bro. Rood and his wife Mabel, who owned both Lot 22 and the adjoining Lot 21 to the south. On October 7, 1908, the 16

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 trustees made an earnest payment of $500 (about $14,000 in 2020 dollars) to the Roods toward the total purchase price of $3,150 (about $88,000 in 2020 dollars). The total purchase price included the assumption of an existing $1,500 mortgage on the property. 88 Since the two other parcels at NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE the Lodge considered previously were $4,000 apiece, it appears that Bro. Rood sold his property to building association for less than half the going price for lots in the University District. The purchase of the lot was announced in a brief article that appeared in the Seattle Sunday Times on October 25, 1908. The same article reported that the plans for the building had not yet been developed. 89 The Pacific Builder and Engineer also reported the purchase of the building site about one week later and also stated that plans for the building were not yet ready.90 The Brethren of University Lodge appear to have made a sound choice in appointing Bro. Rood to the real estate committees, since he was instrumental both in helping to secure the site for the temple and in constructing the building. He had arrived in the University First trustees of the University Lodge Building Association.

District about 1904 and From left to right: W.B. John W. Bailey, W.B. Fred A. Rood, and W.B. John F. Main. initially resided at 4731 12th Avenue NE in a house he constructed for $2,000 (about $58,000 in 2020 dollars). 91 Not long after he settled in the University District, he opened a real estate business with Bro. James R. Pattison and established an office at 4217 14th Avenue NE.92 Bro. Rood quickly became a major real estate operator and developer in the University District. One of his early real estate offerings was his own house at 4731 12th Avenue NE, which he advertised for sale in December 1905.93 His first major development project occurred simultaneously with the design and construction of the University Lodge Masonic Building. The Rood Building was designed by the architectural firm of Spaulding & Umbrecht and located at the southwest corner of NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE.94 The three-story-tall building was constructed in two phases at an estimated cost of $25,000 (about $705,000 in 2020 dollars). The reinforced concrete foundation and first level of the building was built in November 1908, and the two upper floors of the building were added in April 1909. 95 The building featured retail storefronts on the ground floor and rental apartments on the two upper

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 floors, so it appears that Bro. Rood decided to grasp the opportunity to capitalize on the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, which was scheduled to take place in the summer of 1909.

In February 1910, with the new Masonic Building successfully completed, Bro. Rood continued his construction activities in the University District by redeveloping his property at 4332-4334 14th Avenue NE immediately south of the new Masonic Building. He raised the existing house and Rood Building, December 1927. constructed a two-story-tall brick masonry The black arrow indicates the former location of addition for use as a store building, which the Rood Building at the southwest corner of also became known as the Rood N.E. 45th Street and 14th Avenue N.E. (now 96 Building.

The store and apartment University Way). th building at the southwest corner of NE 45 Seattle Municipal Archives, Image #2846.

Street and 14th Avenue NE was demolished in 1949, but the two-story brick masonry Rood Building still stands just to the south of the Masonic Building. Bro. Rood eventually withdrew from the University Lodge Building Association in 1919 and moved to the Richmond Highlands community which he developed north of Seattle.97 He became the first Worshipful Master of Richmond Lodge No. 248 and also served as the chairman of the board of trustees for the Richmond Highlands Masonic Club. In those roles he led the construction of a combined Masonic lodge and club building, which was designed by The Other Rood Building, circa 1937.

4332-4334 14th Avenue N.E., immediately south the architect Bro. Francis W. Grant of of the Masonic Building.

Arcana Lodge No. 87 and completed in Puget Sound Regional Archives.

1922.98 This building still stands at the southwest corner of N 185th Street and Linden Avenue N in Shoreline, Washington. Now known as the Richmond Masonic Center, it is home to Shoreline Lodge No. 248 and other concordant Masonic organizations.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 NEW MASONIC BUILDINGS IN WASHINGTON STATE: 1900 - 1915 In both 1900 and 1910 the three largest cities in Washington State were Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. During this decade, the population of both Seattle and Spokane almost trebled, while Tacoma’s population grew by almost 125%. The rest of the top ten cities by population in 1910 were, in descending order by population: Everett, Bellingham, Walla Walla, North Yakima, Aberdeen, Hoquiam, and Olympia.99 Along with the increase in population came an increase of Masons on the Grand Lodge membership rolls, which stood at 5,399 in 1900 and almost trebled to 14,473 in 1910. 100 The construction of the Masonic Building in the University District was just one of the numerous building projects that Masonic Lodges and other concordant Masonic bodies across Washington State embarked upon between 1900 and 1915. During this time period some of the oldest Masonic Lodges in the state began to build new halls to replace their older buildings, while more recently chartered Lodges in rapidly growing areas of the state also sought to create their own homes.

Masons in Seattle moved into their remodeled Masonic Hall at 2320 First Avenue in 1902. Five years later, plans were announced for a $250,000 temple to be erected at Seneca Street and Harvard Avenue.101 Discussions of a potential building at that location continued until 1911, when another property at Harvard Avenue and Pine Street was purchased and a design competition was held among Seattle architects, all of whom were Masons in good standing. The winning plans were selected in 1912, but due to ongoing fundraising challenges the project did not begin construction until 1915 and was not completed until the following year. 102 In addition to the main Seattle Masonic Temple, Doric Lodge No. 92, which met in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, started construction on their two-story brick masonry building in December 1908. 103 The cornerstone of the building was laid in February 1909 and the building occupied not long after.104 During his visit to Tacoma on May 22, 1903, President of the United States Bro. Theodore Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for Tacoma’s new Masonic Temple at 734-736 St. Helen’s Avenue.105 The three-story, $50,000 building (about $1.4 million in 2020 dollars) was dedicated on June 13, 1904.106 During this same trip to

Masonic Temple, Spokane, circa 1904.

Real photo postcard. Author’s collection.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Washington State, Bro. Roosevelt also broke the first ground for Spokane’s new Masonic Temple on May 26, 1903.107 Masonic bodies in Spokane began planning their new temple in 1902, and the $100,000 building (almost $3 million in 2020 dollars) at 1108 West Riverside Drive was dedicated on August 24, 1905.108 Plans were announced in December 1902 for a new Masonic Temple in Aberdeen. 109 Planning and fundraising efforts continued until construction began in October 1904. 110 The cornerstone was laid on June 20, 1905, and the building was occupied in November 1905. 111 In May 1904, the Everett Masons dedicated their new $12,000 Masonic Temple. 112 One year later, the Masonic bodies of Bellingham constructed their two-story-tall, brick masonry Masonic Hall in a distinctive Egyptian Revival architectural style.113 The Masons in Walla Walla dedicated their stately two-story Masonic Hall on March 27, 1906.114 Olympia Lodge No. 1, the first chartered Masonic Lodge in Washington State, demolished their old building in 1909 and built a new Masonic Temple in 1909.115 Masons in Hoquiam began planning their new building in 1907, and in 1910 they purchased a site and constructed a 2-story building that cost $20,000 (or about $540,000 in 2020 dollars).116 Without a doubt, the grandest Masonic building project undertaken in Washington State during this period was the lavish eight-story-tall Masonic Temple in North Yakima. Built in the Second Empire architectural style at a cost of almost $150,000 (almost $4 million in 2020 dollars), this stunning landmark was the

Masonic Temple, North Yakima, circa 1912.

Real photo postcard. Author’s collection.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 tallest building in the city when it was completed in June 1912. The building featured retail storefronts on the ground level, and rental office spaces on the second and third floors. The fourth floor was occupied by the Yakima Commercial Club rooms, and an assembly room, auditorium, cloak room, restrooms, and a kitchen were situated on the fifth floor. The Masonic quarters, including lobby, offices, ante rooms, and Lodge room were housed on the sixth floor of the building. The main Lodge room measured 36-feet by 72-feet and boasted a 26-foot-tall ceiling.

Banquet rooms, storerooms, locker rooms, and ventilation equipment rooms took up the seventh and eighth floors.117 A MASONIC BUILDING FOR THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT With the site secured, the Brethren of University Lodge turned their attention to the design and construction of the Lodge building. The University Lodge Building Association (ULBA) was formally incorporated on October 17, 1908 with an initial capitalization of $5,000 (about $139,000 in 2020 dollars). This capitalization was allocated as follows: ten shares of common stock at $1,000 each (about $28,000 in 2020 dollars) and 150 shares of preferred stock at $25.00 each (about $700 in 2020 dollars). All ten shares of common stock were sold to University Lodge, and the preferred stock was purchased by individual members of the Lodge. 118 A proposition from the United States Post Office Department to take a lease in the proposed new Lodge building was read at the stated meeting of University Lodge on February 1, 1909. 119 One week later the ULBA trustees met at the house of Worshipful Bro. Rood, who had recently become master of the Lodge. At that meeting he told Bros. Chapman, Holmes, and Main that the United States Post Office Department had recently advertised for bids for a new location of the University Station post office, which had been located at 4216 14 th Avenue NE since 1907.120 Due to the rapid growth of the University District, the volume of mail had increased so dramatically that by late December 1908 the Seattle Daily Times reported that a dozen employees had to do all their work in a cramped 12-foot by 12-foot rented room.121 Not long after this report the local postmaster recommended that the University Station post office be enlarged, and also stated that the post office would look for a location near NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE.122 Since University Lodge was a new corporate entity it encountered difficulty in obtaining the necessary financing for the building project. Worshipful Bro. Rood recommended that the ULBA try to secure a lease in the proposed new Lodge building from the United States Post Office Department, since the full faith and credit of the federal government would act as security and enable the trustees to obtain a construction loan. The trustees agreed, and the ULBA tendered their offer for rental space in the new Lodge building, which the post office authorities accepted. 123 The post office agreed to rent a space on the ground floor of the new building for $700 per year (about $20,000 in 2020 dollars) for a term of five years. 124

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 With the federal government lease in hand, an $8,000 loan (about $225,000 in 2020 dollars) was secured to go toward the construction of the Lodge building. The ULBA trustees appointed an executive committee on March 1, 1909 to oversee the design and construction of the Lodge building, which would have space for the University Station post office on the ground level and the Lodge room on the second level. 125 An authorization to raise the capital stock from $5,000 to $10,000 was made a few weeks later. 126 The available records do not reveal what event precipitated the ULBA to increase the capital stock, but construction costs in Seattle at that time were very high as builders rushed to complete all the buildings on the grounds of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and also finish all the hotel and apartment buildings needed to house the expected influx of visitors for the fair.

The groundbreaking for the new Lodge building occurred in March 1909. 127 The site was prepared and the existing house on the property was demolished between March and June 1909. Reports in the local building trade publications and the City of Seattle building permit records show that the construction project did not actually commence until June 1909. On June 24, 1909, the Seattle Daily Bulletin reported that John Schulz had secured the contract to superintend the construction of the Lodge building.128 The next day, John Schulz received building permit 78315 to build a three-story, “Class G” Lodge hall and post office building measuring 40-feet by 100-feet at 433638 14th Avenue NE.129 The reported cost of the project was $12,000 (about $338,000 in 2020 dollars), and the fee for the building permit was $5.60 (about $158 in 2020 dollars). 130 The construction of the new Lodge building was reported in the Seattle Daily Bulletin the next day, and it was also mentioned in both the Seattle Daily Bulletin and the Pacific Builder and Engineer the following week.131 Unlike Denny Hall fifteen years earlier and other public and Masonic buildings constructed during the same time period, the new Masonic Building did not have a cornerstone laid at the beginning of construction.

The construction of the Masonic Building in the University District appears to have been overshadowed by a different building with the same name which was also being built in 1909. The construction of the Masonic Building for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYPE) was covered extensively in the newspapers and building trade publications both before, during, and after the fair. Construction of the AYPE Masonic Building began in February 1909 and was completed in time for the opening of the fair in June 1909. 132 In contrast, the completion of the Masonic Building in the University District did not garner any direct mentions in the local newspapers, and the first press account that mentioned University Lodge’s new home was an announcement on October 30, 1909 that the new Samamish [sic] Tribe No. 92 of the Improved Order of Red Men had formed and would meet every Friday night in the “new Masonic Hall” at University Station.133

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 The new Masonic Building in the University District was completed by the time the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition closed on October 16, 1909. On Sunday, October 17, 1909, Worshipful Master Fred A. Rood received a telegram from the Grand Master giving permission for University Lodge to move into the new Masonic Building.134 The first Masonic Building, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, 1909. meeting of University Real photo postcard. Author’s collection.

Lodge took place the following evening. The University Chapter Order of the Eastern Star held their first meeting in the new building on October 26, 1909. A published account of that meeting described the new Lodge room as “commodious” and reported that a delicious meal was served in the “large banquet hall in the new Masonic building.”135 As the Masonic bodies settled into their new spacious quarters, other new tenants moved in during the following months. By 1911, Bro. Clarence Ellinwood opened his confectionary store in the retail space to the north of the building entry, which was originally located at the center of the building.136 Bro. Ellinwood paid rent of $35.00 per month on this space at 4340 14 th Avenue NE (about $945.00 in 2020 dollars).137 The dentist Neil H. Brigham occupied one of the three offices on the second floor between 1910 and 1911. 138 Robert E. Morriss, another dentist, moved into a second-floor office after Brigham’s departure. 139 Dr. Frederick Slyfield, a physician, also occupied another one of the offices on the second floor of the new Masonic Building by 1914. 140 Despite the successful completion and occupancy of the Masonic Building, the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington declined a request to formally dedicate the building. In late November 1909, Grand Master William A. Baker wrote Past Grand Master Ralph C. McAllaster that he did not think that University Lodge had paid a sufficient amount of money on the building. He stated that he would not be able to grant their request until the Lodge invested more in the building.141 The reaction of the Brethren to this news was not recorded, but considering the ULBA had raised the stock capitalization amount to $10,000 (about $282,000 in 2020 dollars) in July 1909, this news was likely not received with warm fraternal feelings.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Masonic Building, 1910.

Image used with permission. MOHAI, PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, 1983.10.8955.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Unlike Bro. Ellinwood and the office occupants, the United States Post Office Department turned out to be a demanding tenant. The ULBA was compelled to double the stock capitalization again in February 1910 to $20,000 (about $540,000 in 2020 dollars) in order to complete the interior work required by the post office authorities. 142 By July 1910, the new University Station Post Office sub-station had finally opened for business in the ground floor retail space to the south of the main entry to the building.143 JOHN SCHULZ, DESIGNER AND BUILDER OF THE MASONIC BUILDING John Schulz both designed and built the Masonic Building in the University District. 144 Born Jens Sebastian Schulz in Trondheim, Norway on December 21, 1870, he graduated from technical school in 1887, where he was described as very bright and a “fast learner.” He immigrated to the United States in 1890, where he settled first in Minnesota and then Chicago before moving to the West Coast in the early 1900s. By about 1902, Schulz resided in San Francisco, California, and over the next five years he developed a reputation as an extremely capable engineer who specialized in reinforced concrete and steel frame structures. 145 His talents as a consulting engineer were particularly in demand after the San Francisco earthquake of April 1906 and he was heavily involved in the rebuilding of San Francisco after the massive tremblor and resulting fires destroyed much of the city. Working in partnership with some of the largest and most well-known architectural firms in California, he designed the structural frames of several large buildings in San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Mateo, including several high-rise commercial buildings.146 By July 1907, he was working as an independent consulting and designing engineer at 779 Market Street in San Francisco. He advertised his skills as the designer of “tall fireproof upto-date buildings, [and] steel and reinforced concrete structures of any type.” 147 Schulz came to Seattle in the fall of 1907 to accept the position of Assistant City Engineer with the City of Seattle Engineering Department.148 The initial reports of his new position indicated that he would be working on bridge construction projects, but in actuality he worked as an assistant building inspector under Superintendent of Buildings Bro. Francis W. Grant. 149 Schulz resigned from his position in January 1909 and cited dissatisfaction with his work as his reason for leaving.150 His superiors publically praised his skills and talents and offered an increase in salary, and Schulz stayed on until June 1909, when he resigned permanently from the City of Seattle.151 The immense workload of issuing building permits and inspecting the tremendous number of buildings under construction in Seattle in 1908 and 1909 continued to strain the city’s Engineering Department. City Engineer R. H. Thomson coaxed an old friend of his to take on the position vacated by Schulz, but the overworked and frustrated replacement also resigned the position after about six months when the city reduced his salary.152 After Schulz and his wife and children arrived in the Puget Sound region, they first lived in the Richmond Beach community north of Seattle, but by 1909 they were living in the University 25

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 District at 4702 11th Avenue NE.153 After the completion of the Masonic Building in the University District in October 1909, he continued to work as an independent consulting engineer in Seattle until mid-1910, when he and his family relocated to Wasco, Oregon so he could work on a bridge project. The Schulz family arrived in Los Angeles later that same year. 154 Schulz continued practicing as a designing and constructing engineer in Los Angeles, where he worked on a number of large commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings in Southern California. In April 1918, John Schulz, his wife, and children legally changed their German-sounding last names to “Shiels.”

Despite their last name being Norwegian in origin, this change was requested due to the strong anti-German sentiment during World War One.155 He was listed as a structural engineer living in Venice, California in 1933, and it appears that he retired not long after. John Shiels died in Los Angeles on May 3, 1937 at the age of 66.

BUILDING OCCUPANTS AND NOTABLE EVENTS: 1910 TO 1920 Between 1910 and 1918, University Lodge No. 141 was the main user of the Lodge room on the second floor of the new Masonic Building. However, during those early years the ULBA also rented the Lodge room to the University Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Rebekahs, the Improved Order of Red Men, the Fraternal Brotherhood, and the Royal Arcanum.156 On other nights when the hall was not being used, it was rented out for high school proms, University of Washington fraternity and sorority events, dancing parties, political meetings, and other public gatherings. The Masonic Building quickly became one of the major centers of activity in the University District and also helped contribute to the center of the district moving northward from the intersection of NE 42 nd Street and 14th Avenue NE to the streetcar junction at NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE. Buildings began to cluster around this new heart of the district, and by 1913, the Masonic Building had been joined by the Malloy Apartments at the southeast corner of NE 45th Street and 14th Avenue NE and the new University State Bank building at the northeast corner of the intersection.

Bro. Ellinwood continued to operate his confectionary store on the ground floor by himself until 1920, when he went into partnership with Robert J. Williams. The company did business as Ellinwood & Williams in the same location at 4340 14th Avenue NE until about 1923.157 Robert E. Morriss operated his dental office on the second floor until about 1922. 158 The University Station post office remained in their “dingy and dark” quarters on the ground floor of the Masonic Building until the end of their five-year lease in 1914. In December 1914, the post office moved into a new space on the ground floor of a building at the northeast corner of NE 42 nd Street and 14th Avenue NE.159 The equipment and furniture that remained in the old post office space was disposed of by the ULBA Board of Trustees. 160 In January 1915 the Board of Trustees considered a proposal to open a pool hall in the vacant post office space, but ultimately decided to not rent the space for that purpose.161 Hiram Lindsay opened a grocery store in the old post office rooms in

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 1915. This store eventually became the main location of Lindsay’s local Stop & Shop Stores chain, but the grocery store vacated the space by 1923. 162 The busy Lodge room received a fair amount of wear and tear from frequent use, and University Lodge purchased new furniture to equip the Lodge room in 1911. By 1915 the building was six years old, and the ULBA Board of Trustees had to act on capital projects to maintain the building, which included alterations to the ventilation system that were authorized late in that year. 163 By 1918, University Lodge No. 141 owned all of the common stock and a significant portion of the preferred stock in the ULBA, and the Lodge appointed a committee to approach the ULBA Board of Trustees with an offer to take over control of the Masonic Building.

At a special meeting of the ULBA Board of Trustees on January 11, 1918, Worshipful Bro. Fred A. Rood announced that University Lodge No. 141 proposed to take over control of the Lodge room and banquet room from the ULBA. A committee consisting of Bros. Charles P. Harris, Charles Wilkinson, and Eugene W. Bell submitted an offer to rent the primary of the rooms of the Masonic Building for $70.00 per month (about $1,100 in 2020 dollars), but this initial offer was rejected. A subsequent offer of $75.00 per month (about $1,275 in 2020 dollars) was also rejected and the meeting was adjourned.164 The University Lodge committee returned to the ULBA Board of Trustees with a counteroffer on March 4, 1918. University Lodge proposed to take charge of the entire property of the ULBA, including the lot, building, furniture, and fixtures, in return for assuming all of the financial obligations of the ULBA, including the mortgage on the building, and paying a seven percent dividend on the outstanding preferred stock of the ULBA until the stock was retired. The ULBA stockholders met at 9:00 P.M. on March 4, 1918 to consider and approve the counteroffer, and one hour later the Board of Trustees met with the University Lodge committee to approve the counteroffer and execute the legal agreement. Worshipful Bro. Rood and Bro. Eugene W. Bell signed on behalf of the ULBA, and Worshipful Bro. Walter H. Steffey, the current master of University Lodge, and Bro. John C. Rathbun signed the document on behalf of University Lodge No. 141.165 University Lodge was now officially in control of both the day-to-day operations of the building and capital improvement projects. In 1918, Worshipful Master Walter H. Steffey struck upon a creative way to raise money to pay for a new carpet for the Lodge room: he raffled off a bearskin rug for $800 (a staggering $13,500 in 2020 dollars). 166 A new altar and pedestals for the officer stations were also purchased in 1919. To help pay for other operation expenses, the Brethren were also asked to pay half of the costs of banquets, which had previously been free, and the initiation fee for receiving the degrees of Masonry was raised to $75.00, about $1,275.00 in 2020 dollars. 167

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 WORLD WAR ONE AND THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC The United States entered World War One in April 1917. Forty-nine members of University Lodge No. 141 served in the armed forces, and two perished during the conflict. Second lieutenant Bro. Arthur E. Carlson of the U.S. Army’s 347th Machine Gun Battalion was killed in action at Gesnes, France on September 29, 1918. Bro. Roland H. Morriss, regimental supply sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 361st Infantry, was killed in action at Epinonville, France on October 3, 1918. Bro. Morriss was the son of the dentist Robert E. Morriss, who had his dental practice on the second floor of the Masonic Building from 1912 until 1921.

In addition to the armed conflict that continued to rage during late 1918, the world was also confronted with a virulent influenza pandemic. On October 5, 1918, the City of Seattle Mayor and Board of Health banned all large public assemblies, including movie screenings, church services, and fraternal meetings.168 Face coverings were also required to be worn in certain public areas and on streetcars and buses. While under the quarantine order, the primary University Lodge officers held a brief stated meeting on Monday, October 7, 1918 to conduct some pressing business. The officers also conducted a brief stated meeting on Monday, November 4, 1918 to pay bills and read communications from other Lodges. The ban on large public gatherings was lifted the day after the Armistice as the citizens of Seattle celebrated the end of the war and mourned their losses. 169 MASONIC MEMBERSHIP INCREASES IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD Membership in fraternal organizations of all types steadily increased in the United States between 1900 and 1918 and sharply increased in the years following World War One. Washington State was no exception to this trend, with Grand Lodge counting 14,473 Masons on the rolls in 1910 and 28,617 Masons in 1920. Over 6,000 of these Brothers were added to the rolls between 1918 and 1920.170 The membership in University Lodge No. 141 followed this trend, with 322 Brothers on the rolls in 1918, which increased to 468 in 1920. 171 Between 1900 and 1919, 108 new Masonic Lodges were chartered in Washington State, including ten new Lodges in Seattle alone. Fifty-one new Masonic Lodges were chartered in Washington State between 1920 and 1929, including an astonishing sixteen new Lodges in Seattle and its immediate suburbs to the north and south of the city.172 By 1930, there were thirty-two Masonic Lodges listed in the Seattle directory, which included Lodges located in Burien, Richmond Highlands, and Riverton.173 NEW MASONIC BUILDINGS IN SEATTLE AND VICINITY: 1920 - 1927 The sharp increase in both the number of Masons and new Lodges also resulted in a postwar Masonic building construction boom in Seattle and throughout Washington State as Masonic Lodges and concordant bodies scrambled to house the increase in members. In 1920, eight of the Masonic Lodges, including St. John’s No. 9, Eureka No. 20, Arcana No. 87, Ionic No. 90, West 28

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Gate No. 128, Thomas M. Reed U. D., Seattle No. 164, and Century No. 208 met at the Masonic Temple at Harvard Avenue and Pine Street in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The other nine Lodges held their meetings in other locations near downtown Seattle or close to the city: Occidental Lodge No. 72 met at Ballard City Hall; Doric Lodge No. 92 met at the Masonic Hall in Fremont; Home Lodge No. 100 met at Horton’s Hall in Georgetown; Ark Lodge No. 126 met at the Fraternal Hall in Columbia City; University Lodge No. 141 met at the Masonic Building in the University District; Green Lake Lodge No. 149 met at Thorn’s Hall in Green Lake; Alki Lodge No. 152 met at Gallinger’s Hall in West Seattle; Delta Lodge No. 172 met at Robbin’s Hall in Riverton; and Rainier Lodge No. 189 met at 2715 Jackson Street in Seattle. 174 Between 1920 and 1927, six of the Masonic Lodges in Seattle constructed new buildings to house their growing membership. In 1921, Ark Lodge No. 126 built their Masonic Hall in Columbia City.175 One year later, Green Lake Lodge No. 149 constructed a magnificent Masonic Temple in Green Lake.176 Rainier Lodge No. 189 built their Masonic Temple east of downtown Seattle.177 In 1924, after years of meeting in rented halls, Occidental Lodge No. constructed a new temple in Ballard.178 Greenwood Lodge No. 253, chartered in 1923, built a Masonic Temple in Greenwood in 1924.179 Queen Anne Lodge No. 242 purchased an old telephone exchange building and remodeled it into their hall in 1924.180 And last but not least, Home Lodge No. 100 built their large temple building in Georgetown in 1927.181 Three Masonic Lodges just outside of Seattle also built new buildings between 1920 and 1927.

Robert Burns Lodge No. 243 constructed the stately Alderwood Manor Masonic Temple in 1921.182 Richmond Lodge No. 248 built a unique Craftsman-style Lodge building in Richmond Highlands.183 And in 1924, Yancey C. Blalock Lodge No. 265 constructed a modest meeting hall in Lake City and received their charter the following year. 184 A MOVEMENT TO REPLACE THE MASONIC BUILDING: PART ONE The year 1920 was a momentous year for University Lodge No. 141. Past Master James H. Begg was elected Grand Master in June 1920. In addition to being the first Worshipful Master of University Lodge, Most Worshipful Bro. Begg was the first Grand Master from University Lodge.

The Lodge Brethren feted the newly elected Grand Master at a reception in the Masonic Building on June 19, 1920 and a few days later presented him with an ivory gavel during a presentation at Little’s Hall on the second floor of the University State Bank near the Lodge at the northeast corner of 14th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street.185 With one of their own elected as Grand Master and against the backdrop of the building campaigns mounted by the other Masonic Lodges in Seattle, in 1920 the Brethren of University Lodge started discussing the possibility of constructing another building in the University District. A committee was appointed on May 3, 1920 to obtain a site for a new Masonic Building and to decide the fate 29

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 of the existing Masonic Building, which was only just eleven years old. 186 The committee went to work, and at the December 1920 stated meeting a motion was approved to purchase three lots at the corner of NE 45th Street and 16th Avenue NE for $12,500 (over $160,000 in 2020 dollars).187 However, at the January 1921 stated meeting, the motion to purchase the lots was repealed. 188 In June 1921, the finance committee recommended that a new building not be erected at that time, and the committee looking for building sites was asked to keep watch for potential lots in the University District.189 In December, the building committee reported back to the Lodge with their recommendations on how to proceed with a potential new building and stressed that it was important for the other Masonic and concordant bodies be involved in the planning and financing efforts.190 Another real estate committee was appointed in December 1921. A special communication was held on June 15, 1923 to discuss the plans for a new building, but no action was taken on the committee’s report. 191 ALTERATIONS TO THE MASONIC BUILDING: 1920 – 1925 The efforts to construct a new Masonic Building in the University District appear to have fizzled out after June 1923. However, while the plans for a potential new building were debated there were three major remodeling projects that altered both the outward appearance of the building and the configuration of the internal spaces. On September 1, 1921, C. S. Hatfield of the building committee obtained building permit 205897 for a $300 (just over $4,000 in 2020 dollars) alteration of the existing storefront and brick masonry piers at the front of the building. On January 8, 1923, Seattle architect and builder Worshipful Bro. Harry E. Hudson received building permit 219659 to alter an existing window and install an exit and fire escape at the rear (east end) of the Lodge room on the second floor. This work appears to have been done in response to a letter from the Seattle Fire Marshal, though this letter was not in the City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections building permit records. 192 Not long after, Worshipful Bro. Hudson obtained building permit 220333 on February 6, 1923 to alter the location of the existing main stairway at the front (west end) of the building and remodel an existing store room into additional space for the banquet hall on the ground floor. This major remodeling project reportedly cost $7,000 (almost $105,000 in 2020 dollars).193 Unfortunately, the original construction drawings for the building have not survived. The drawings submitted with the building permit application in 1909 were destroyed less than one year later, which was the typical practice of the City of Seattle Building Department at the time. However, an undated, two-sheet set of blueprints by Worshipful Bro. Harry E. Hudson were found in a storage room in the Masonic Building in 2019. These are the oldest drawings for the building that have been located to date. The architectural scope of work indicated on these two floor plan drawings strongly suggests that Worshipful Bro. Hudson designed both the 1921 storefront remodel and the 1923 fire exit and stairway work. Despite this historic documentation, the exact construction date of the elaborate metal and glass canopy once located at the front façade of the 30

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 building remains unknown. The canopy may have been installed as early as 1915 after the departure of the post office. However, based on photographic evidence it was in place by 1925, so it appears that it was likely added during one of the remodeling campaigns between 1921 and 1923.

The Masonic Building, December 1927.

The black arrow indicates the Masonic Building on the east side of University Way. Seattle Municipal Archives, Image #2845.

THE DEPRESSION YEARS AND WORLD WAR TWO The Great Depression hit both public and private institutions extremely hard. Freemasonry was not spared from this fate and starting in 1930 the Grand Lodge saw thirteen consecutive years in which Brothers were lost from the membership rolls. More than one-fifth of the Masons in Washington State fell from the rolls, and the loss of money from dues and initiation fees deeply affected the financial condition of many of the Lodges across the state, especially the ones that had undertaken large building projects in the flush times of the previous two decades. 194 Fortunately, 31

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 it appears that the decision by the Brethren of University Lodge to not construct a new temple in the early 1920s ultimately paid off, and University Lodge retired the last bond on the building on November 12, 1931.195

The Masonic Building, circa 1937.

Puget Sound Regional Archives.

Despite the lean years between 1930 and the beginning of World War Two, the Brethren of University Lodge were fortunate enough to make gradual improvements to the building under the capable guidance of the Board of Trustees. A contract was awarded in July 1934 to install a new 100-Ampere electrical service, rewire the building, and revise the lighting in the Lodge room. At about the same time, ten wooden pillars were added to the North, East, and South walls of the Lodge room, and one year later the ceiling of the Lodge room was re-plastered. 196 In February 1936 alterations were made to the second and third floors of the building. 197 The building Board of Trustees were also fortunate to maintain steady tenants in the ground floor retail spaces, and in 1938 a barber shop rented one of the two spaces for $90.00 per month, or about $1,600 per month in 2020 dollars.198 In September 1941, as storm clouds of war once again clouded the horizon, University Lodge No. 141 no longer was required to pay rent to use the building.199 32

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 A MOVEMENT TO REPLACE THE MASONIC BUILDING: PART TWO After the conclusion of World War Two, veterans returned to Seattle and the University District boomed once again. Enrollment at the University of Washington more than doubled between 1945 and 1946, and many of the new students were forced to live outside the University District. Even amidst the lack of suitable housing, older houses were demolished to make way for surface parking lots and road construction projects barreled through the district, removing even more of the older building stock.200 In October 1945 the Lodge received a flyer about proposed improvements to all of the existing building storefronts on the west side of University Way NE between NE 34rd Street and NE 45th Street, though this plan was never carried out.201 On November 13, 1945, the manager of the Masonic Building was directed to start plans for a new building in the University District.

In March 1946, an option was secured for a property at the southeast corner of NE 52nd Street and University Way NE. Covering a ground area of 9,300 square feet, the members of the Lodge real estate committee paid $750.00 out of their own pockets to secure the option on the $26,500 (over $377,000 in 2020 dollars) property. 202 In April 1946 a $500 award was authorized for the best architectural plan submitted for the new building, and in September 1946 Bro. Arthur P. Hermann (pictured at the right) won the design contract based on his proposal for the new University Temple.203

Proposed New University Temple. From the University Lodge Trestleboard, Jul.-Aug. 1948 33

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Discussions of how to fund the new building continued throughout the rest of 1946 and into late 1947. Additional funding for the preliminary building plans was approved in late November 1947, and the Christian Science Church congregation expressed interest in leasing the existing Masonic Building.204 However, by March 1948 the estimated construction cost of the new building had ballooned to $400,000 (or over $4.2 million in 2020 dollars). 205 A call for contributions was made to the Brethren of the Lodge, but the plans for the building were put on hold in April 1948. 206 A MOVEMENT TO REPLACE THE MASONIC BUILDING: PART THREE The University Lodge Planning Committee continued to meet after the building plans were put on hold in April 1948. This committee met three times during 1949 and discussed the potential construction of a new temple, but once again the effort to construct a new University Temple came to a halt.207 With the plans for a new University Temple on hold, the ULBA Board of Trustees turned their attention to making aesthetic improvements to the building and Lodge room. On June 16, 1950, it was decided to hire the artist Ernest Norling to paint murals on all four walls of the Lodge room, and Johansen & Guffey were hired to do other repainting in the Lodge room. Norling was paid $2,000 (over $21,000 in 2020 dollars) for his murals, which the Brethren of University Lodge enjoy to the present day.

View of the Lodge Room, circa 1950-1960. Ernest Norling’s murals are visible on the west wall of the room. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 Discussions of a new University Temple started again in 1953. After careful analysis, the Planning Committee determined that the three lots at NE 52nd Street and University Way would not be large enough to accommodate the proposed new building, due to a recent revision of off-street parking requirements by the City of Seattle. At the August 3, 1953 stated meeting, University Lodge granted the Planning Committee permission to place an option on five lots at 11 th Avenue NE between NE 41st and 42nd Streets.208 This issue was taken up again at the March 1, 1954 stated meeting and the Planning Committee was given permission to proceed with the purchase. 209 $800.00 was appropriated at the next stated meeting to develop the preliminary plans for a building on the new site at 11th Avenue NE between NE 41st and NE 42nd Streets.210 In 1954, membership in University Lodge No. 141 stood at 1,150. 211 The exertions of the University Lodge Planning Committee continued through 1955. The option on the five lots on 11 th Avenue NE between NE 41st and 42nd Streets expired in March 1955, and even though the committee recommended that the ULBA renew the option on the properties, the committee did not recommend to proceed with the new building at that time.212 The ULBA ultimately purchased the properties and continued to receive rental income from the existing houses on the lots throughout the remainder of the 1950s. While the Brethren bided their time waiting for the right moment to build, the ULBA continued to address the ongoing wear and tear on the building. One of the larger projects was the purchase of a new carpet for the Lodge room furnished by Frederick & Nelson, which was approved in July 1959.213 UNREST AND DISCORD IN THE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT: 1960 – 1970 Changes in the University District came rapidly as the 1950s gave way to the 1960s. In 1961, the proposed sale of the Edmond S. Meany Hotel, a fixture in the district since it opened in 1931, caused great consternation among the residents of the University District, as the hotel had served as the center of community events for almost thirty years. 214 University Lodge was the first public group to utilize the hotel’s commodious banquet room when they hosted a dinner for the Grand Master, Most Worshipful Bro. Thomas M. Askren, on the evening of November 7, 1931. 215 This dinner occurred even before the hotel was officially opened the following week. 216 When Bro. Evro M. Becket, one of the founders of the Edmond S. Meany Hotel, died in February 1960, his will stipulated that the hotel be sold within ten years. New management embarked on a major remodeling campaign in September 1961, but the University District was shocked to learn in September 1962 that Becket’s estate manager planned to sell the building to the Swedish Order of Vasa, which planned to convert the building into a retirement home. The sale of intoxicating beverages had been banned in the University District since the establishment of the University of Washington campus, and the inability of the hotel to obtain a liquor license was viewed as a major liability to the Edmond S. Meany Hotel’s bottom line. Efforts at the city and state level were made to overturn the ban on liquor, but these measures failed. The sale of the hotel for use as a retirement 35

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 home also failed, and the hotel was completely remodeled in 1967. Unfortunately, it was announced that the name of the hotel would be changed to the University Tower Hotel. Longtime residents of the district mourned the loss of the old name that honored a prominent Seattle Mason who had a profound and lasting influence on the University of Washington. 217 Over 18,000 students attended the University of Washington by 1960, an increase of almost 4,000 students since 1950. The 1960s was the greatest period of growth for the University of Washington, and by 1970 over 33,000 students attended the institution. The ever-growing university continued to seek additional room to expand its facilities, and despite the fact that the University of Washington had their sights on expanding the campus since after World War Two, district residents were alarmed when the university actually began purchasing properties, which were located west of 15th Avenue NE between NE 43rd and NE 45th Streets and at the northwest corner of NE 41st Street and 15th Avenue NE.218 Beginning in 1960, the university was also able to take advantage of city and Federal urban renewal policies. These programs helped the institution acquire 60-acres of property west of 15 th Avenue NE, which eventually was developed for academic, social, and residential uses in support of the university. These urban renewal efforts also resulted in the demolition of many older buildings in the district, and sadly many of these properties were converted to surface parking lots, some of which persist to this day. The ban on liquor sales was abolished in 1967, though the University Chamber of Commerce worked hard for many years to prevent the opening of taverns along University Way.219 As the 1960s progressed, the physical condition of the University District deteriorated. Histories of this period written in the 1980s blamed “hippies, beatniks, peaceniks, and street people” for all variety of social ills, including public sex and drug use, shoplifting, graffiti, vandalism, and littering. The surface parking lots, pride of the University District Parking Associates, who owned over 3 acres of parking area, became magnets for bad behavior. Newspapers, particularly the University Herald, attempted to avoid reporting “bad” news about the district, but eventually gave up and began writing about the problems around 1965. Student protests erupted in 1967 over police harassment of booksellers accused of selling “obscene” books and over other grievances related to the treatment of individuals in the district. 220 Tensions between students, non-students, and businesses in the district continued into the following years, which were marked by unrest, including arson fires and bombings. In August 1968, a restaurant on NE 43rd Street was firebombed and the next month a fire was set in Clark Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. The University of Washington Administration Building was bombed in June 1969, causing significant damage to that building, the Suzzallo Library, other adjacent buildings on campus, and even to apartment buildings across 15 th Avenue 36

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 NE. On August 13, 1969, a skirmish between the “street people” and the police earlier in the week erupted into a riot that resulted in looting, trash cans set on fire, broken windows, and other property damage. Police used tear gas to disperse the assembled protestors. University District officials were able to hammer out a peace deal with the protesters on Friday, August 15 th.221 The nervous peace in the University District was shattered once again when a bomb went off at the United States Post Office at NE 43rd Street and University Way NE on the evening of March 3, 1970. A postal truck was demolished in the bomb attack. Some in the district suspected the bombing was staged by the police as an entrapment ploy. A few months later, the murder of four student protesters at Kent State University in Ohio on May 4, 1970 set off protests at colleges and universities across the United States, including a mass meeting held the next day at the University of Washington Husky Union Building. When the university president did not respond to the protester’s demands, they announced a strike against the university and about 6,000 protesters marched down NE 45th Street and onto Interstate 5. The large group of protesters was forced off the interstate, but they continued to the Federal Courthouse downtown, where the group broke up after a series of speeches.222 On May 5th, another large group of 6,000 to 10,000 demonstrators formed on campus and marched south across the Montlake Bridge, where they were met by a group from Seattle University. About 15,000 protesters crowded at the Seattle Municipal Building, and the acting mayor tried to convince the university president to open the stadium for use as a protest forum on Friday, May 8th. The assembled group was not happy with this response and headed to the interstate to close it down again. The police funneled the crowd onto the express lanes of Interstate 5, where they beat some of the demonstrators with batons and used tear gas to disperse the crowd. The exhausted protesters straggled back to the University District and the evening passed without further incident.

Another rally of about 4,000 students took place on campus on Thursday, May 7th, and some disruptions occurred on campus throughout the day. About 300 people roamed through the University District that evening, throwing rocks and breaking windows. The police brought out their batons again and were joined by a “vigilante” group, some of which were also armed with night sticks. Later reports suggested that the “vigilante” group may have been plainclothes police officers brought by bus from downtown and dispersed into the district without badges and armed with concealed batons. The University of Washington president closed the university of Friday, May 8th to commemorate the deaths of the four students at Kent State. About 9,000 to 10,000 peaceful demonstrators assembled in downtown Seattle for an anti-war protest that day, and the tumultuous and violent week ended peacefully. The first street fair in the neighborhood was held in May 1970, partly as an attempt to smooth over relations between the students, street people, and the business owners and residents of the University District. The event was a huge success and was repeated the next year with an even larger attendance by the public. 223

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 A MOVEMENT TO REPLACE THE MASONIC BUILDING: PART FOUR In the early 1960s the Brethren of University Lodge once again started discussing the possibility of building a new home in the University District. A committee was formed in January 1962 to look into trading the Lodge’s five lots on 11th Avenue NE for another development site on NE 41st Street owned by the University of Washington.224 This plan did not come to fruition. The committee received a letter in January 1964 offering lots located on NE 43 rd Street and Brooklyn Avenue NE, but this property was not purchased either. 225 In early 1965, the University Book Store approached University Lodge and offered $125,000 (just over $1 million in 2020 dollars) for the property at 4338 University Way NE. In March 1965, the Lodge took an option on four lots at University Way NE and NE 55 th Street in anticipation of constructing a new building at that location. 226 University Lodge tendered a counteroffer to the University Book Store in April, asking for $135,000 (about $1.1 million) for the property and the stipulation that the Lodge be given three years to vacate the property. The Lodge also rejected offers from the University of Washington for building lots on NE 41 st Street while it was negotiating with the University Book Store.227 In June 1965, the University Book Store rejected the counteroffer and held firm at the $125,000 price with one year to vacate. The ULBA Board of Trustees voted to accept the offer but asked for an additional six months to allow for the construction of the new building. The Board of Trustees were informed that 3 lots providing 120 feet of frontage at NE 55 th Street and University Way NE was available for $115,000 (about $936,000 in 2020 dollars), and the Board decided to sell the Lodge’s five lots on 11th Avenue NE for a net of $100,000.228 In July 1965, the University Book Store held firm to their $125,000 proposal but added a leaseback option for $750.00 (about $6,100 in 2020 dollars) per month. The Lodge voted to secure an option on the 3 lots at NE 55th Street and University Way NE and also to make an offer to purchase another property on Brooklyn Avenue to provide a parking area. An agreement was reached to accept the University Book Store offer, with the provisions that University Lodge be given two years to vacate and also remove the Lodge room murals at no additional cost to the Lodge. 229 After a frenetic summer of negotiations, the Board of Trustees met on August 27, 1965. Joining them at that meeting was their architect Bro. Austin Grant, a member of Arcana Lodge No. 87 and partner at the firm of Grant, Copeland & Chervenak. Bro. Grant and his firm prepared the preliminary plans for a new twelve-story Lodge and apartment building for the proposed site at 11th Avenue NE and NE 41st Street, but had been asked to look into the possibility of constructing a new building at the property located at NE 55th Street and University Way NE.230

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

West Elevation of the Proposed New University Temple, circa 1965.

Grant, Copeland and Chervenak, Architects. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

Bro. Grant considered the new site and gave the Board of Trustees an estimate of the costs associated with the change in plans. In addition to the three lots already slated for purchase, an additional four lots located within 500 feet of the new building would also have to be purchased to meet the city’s off-street parking requirements. About $76,000 (about $618,000 in 2020 dollars) would have been required to pay for the four additional lots and construct parking lots on the property, which would have been in addition to the $115,000 (about $936,000 in 2020 dollars) asking price for the three lots at NE 55th Street and University Way NE, which meant that the land costs for the proposed building would have been $191,000 (about $1.5 million in 2020 dollars).

Bro. Grant also told them that the estimated construction cost for the building would have been $700,000 (about $5.7 million in 2020 dollars), for a total project cost of $891,000, or about $7.25 million in 2020 dollars. The shocked Board of Trustees decided to slash their space requirements for the new temple by almost half.231 39

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020

Main Floor Plan of the Proposed New University Temple, circa 1965.

Grant, Copeland and Chervenak, Architects. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

In addition to the substantial amount of cold water that Bro. Grant threw on the project, another one of the Board of Trustees had investigated the fair value of the three lots on NE 55 th Street and University Way NE and found that they were overvalued by about $9,000. The Board of Trustees also discovered that the property on NE 41st Street was more valuable than the tax assessment. In light of all these unfortunate discoveries, in September 1965 the Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to reject all the proposals on the table and recommend to the Brethren of University Lodge to not proceed with the new building as it was currently planned. One of the Brothers suggested that an apartment building could be built on the NE 41 st Street property that could accommodate a Lodge constructed above in the future, but apparently no further action was taken on that suggestion.232 In April 1966, the University of Washington expressed interest in making a trade for the building site at NE 41st Street and 11th Avenue NE.233 In August, the university came back with an offer of 40

A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 $123,000 for the five lots at NE 41st Street, which appears to have been accepted.234 In December, the Lodge sold the building site at NE 52nd Street and University Way NE for just over $38,000 (about $300,000 in 2020 dollars).235 Discussion of a new building once again died down as the storm clouds of unrest gathered in the University District during the last few years of the 1960s.

EPILOGUE As the tumultuous decade of the 1960s ended, the ULBA continued to provide the same excellent oversight of the Masonic Building as they had done since the day it opened in 1909. A building manager and custodian was hired in 1969. 236 Dramatic improvements were made to the heating system in 1970.237 The aging water service to the building was also replaced that same year. 238 Other improvements both major and minor were made to the building throughout the 1970s. The possibility of a new building was once again broached in September 1974, when the possibility of purchasing a large parcel south of the Nile Temple in Snohomish County was proposed. The Board of Trustees inspected the property and was impressed with its size, but this plan ultimately did not come to fruition.239 The Masonic Building in the University District will turn 111 years old in October 2020. To this day, the dedicated efforts of the ULBA have ensured that the Brethren of University Lodge No. 141, the Masons of Seattle, and their sojourning Brethren visiting from across the country and around the world have a comfortable Lodge to call home. All the current Brethren of University Lodge owe them and their predecessors a huge debt of gratitude.

FAITH – HOPE – CHARITY

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook is a registered architect and architectural historian. He was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Maryland, Georgia, Virginia, and Texas. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, he worked in both the private and public sectors before he moved to Seattle, Washington in 2014. He is a member of University Lodge No. 141 of Seattle, Washington, where he was initiated on September 15, 2018, passed on December 17, 2018, and raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason on April 20, 2019.

This is the fourth research report that Bro. Alsobrook has written on the history of Masonic buildings in the Puget Sound region. He is currently working on articles about Masonic buildings throughout Washington State, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska.

NOTES ON SOURCES

1

L. R. Stradley and Company’s Seattle Business Directory, 1904, p. 144.

Wheeler, Laban Homer. History of St. John’s Lodge No. 9, F. & A. M. of Seattle, Washington. 2nd ed. Seattle, Washington: St. John’s Lodge No. 9 F. & A. M. Publication Committee, 1950, p. 61.

3 City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, Landmarks Preservation Board Historic Building Data Sheet for the Barnes Building at 2320 First Avenue, Seattle, 1977.

4 “New Masonic Temple.” The Seattle Daily Times, 31 Oct. 1901, p. 6; and “Real Estate and Building Notes.” The Seattle Daily Times, 18 Jan. 1902, p. 26.

5 Wheeler, p. 61.

6 “New Masonic Temple.” The Seattle Daily Times, 31 Oct. 1901, p. 6.

7 Wheeler, p. 61.

8 Wheeler, p. 173.

9 According to Seattle directory entries from 1904 and 1905, of the thirty charter members of University Lodge No. 141, twenty-two resided in what would eventually be known as the University District. Of the remaining eight charter members, five resided in Latona (east of the University District), one resided in Ravenna (northeast of the University District), one resided in southern part of Wallingford (east of Latona), and the residence of one is unknown.

10 Nielsen, Roy. UniverCity: The Story of the University District in Seattle. Seattle, Washington: University Lions Foundation, 1986, p. 22.

11 “Seattle Neighborhoods: University District – Thumbnail History,” HistoryLink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/3380, accessed 11 May 2020.

12 Nielsen, pp. 2-3; and Abstract of Title, Lot Twenty-Two (22) in Block One (1) of Brooklyn Addition to Seattle.

Seattle, Washington: Title Trust Company, 28 Aug. 1909.

13 “Brooklyn Addition.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2 Dec. 1890, p. 5; “Beautiful Brooklyn.” The Seattle PostIntelligencer, 3 Dec. 1890, p. 5; “Quick in Deciding.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 21 Dec. 1890, p. 8; “The Home Beautified.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 27 Dec. 1890, p. 5; and “An Enormous Sale.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 31 Dec. 1890, p. 5.

14 “Latona Notes.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 13 Nov. 1890, p. 5; “Immense Order for Sidewalk.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 14 Dec. 1890, p. 7; and “Brevities.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 30 Dec. 1890, p. 8.

15 “Do You Wish to Get a Lot in Brooklyn Free?” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 4 Dec. 1890, p. 8; and “Gift Lots Gone.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 18 Dec. 1890, p. 4.

16 Long, Clarence D. Wages and Earnings in the United States, 1860-1890. Princeton: New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 1960, pp. 94.

17 Nielsen, p. 8.

18 “Gift Lots Gone.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 18 Dec. 1890, p. 4.

2

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 19

Nielsen, p. 8.

“Latona Notes.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 13 Nov. 1890, p. 5; and Nielsen, p. 8.

21 “When the U. District Was a Dreamy Village.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 12 Oct. 1952, p. 70.

22 Blanchard, Leslie. The Street Railway Era in Seattle: A Chronicle of Six Decades. Forty Fort, Pennsylvania: Harold E. Cox, 1968, p. 38.

23 Nielsen, pp. 15-17.

24 Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture: A Historical Guide to the Architects. 2nd Ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014, p. 66.

25 Meany, Edmond S. “Reminiscence on the ceremony for laying the cornerstone of Denny Hall.” n.d. TS. University of Washington Libraries Special Collections, Seattle, Washington. Web. 11 May 2020. https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/pioneerlife/id/5272/rec/3; and “Edmond Meany Introduced Legislation Moving U. of W. to New Site.” The Seattle Daily Times, 13 Oct. 1955, p.

58.

26 Wheeler, pp. 85-86.

27 Author’s Note: There has been considerable debate among Latin scholars over the exact English translation of the phrase “Lux sit.” One account of this ongoing debate can be found here: “But what does it mean?” The Daily of the University of Washington. Web. 11 May 2020. <http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_66c479de-c6c0-5960-82d9-b9b75c1deac4.html> 28 “University of Washington moves from downtown Seattle to present University District campus in 1895.”

HistoryLink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/278, accessed 11 May 2020.

29 Nielsen, pp. 10 and 17.

30 “Suburban Mail.” The Seattle Star, 1 Oct. 1901, p. 1; and “Seattle Neighborhoods: University District – Thumbnail History,” HistoryLink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/3380, accessed 11 May 2020.

31 “Postoffice Notes.” The Seattle Daily Times, 5 Feb. 1902, p. 4.

32 “Fehren-Marvin Co.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 29 Oct 1899, p. 22; “Board of Public Works.” The Seattle Daily Times, 3 May 1902, p. 8; “Large New Area Concreting.” The Seattle Daily Times, 17 Jun. 1902, p. 7; and “Better Sewerage for Varsity.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 24 Jan. 1904, p. 10.

33 “_.” The Seattle Daily Times, 25 Oct. 1901, p. 5; “For Suburban Mails.” The Seattle Daily Times, 18 Oct. 1902, p.

12. “News Notes of the Suburbs – University Station.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 20 Nov. 1902, p. 6; “News Notes of the Suburbs – University Station,” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 21 Feb. 1903, p. 6; “Fire House Nearly Completed.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10 Jan. 1905, p. 8; “Suburban Notes – University Station.” The Seattle Star, 11 Oct. 1906, p. 7; “Play Presented by Association.” The Seattle Star, 5 Jul. 1907, p. 1; “Candidates’ Rally.” The Seattle Star, 26 Aug. 1908, p. 5; “Local Briefs.” The Seattle Star, 28 Jan. 1909, p. 7; and “Terminal Station K Opened by Uncle Sam.” The Seattle Daily Times, 14 Dec. 1914, p. 9.

34 Nielsen, unpaginated frontmatter.

35 “Now & Then – University Station.” HistoryLink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/3023, accessed 11 May 2020.

36 R. L. Polk and Company’s Seattle City Directory, 1895, pp. 824, 825, 832, 841, 843, 846, 855, 863, 875, 886, 899, 902, and 920.

37 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Seattle, 1905, Volume 4, Sheets 455-462.

38 “News Notes of the Suburbs – University Station.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Aug. 1902, p. 21.

39 “News Notes of the Suburbs – University Station.” The Seattle Post Intelligencer, 29 Jun. 1902, p. 20; 17 Jul. 1902, p. 7; 19 Jul. 1902, p. 6; 15 Aug. 1902, p. 6; 24 Aug. 1902, p. 21; 31 Aug. 1902, p. 27; and 23 Oct. 1902, p. 7.

40 “Hold-Up Near Brooklyn.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1 Oct. 1900, p. 12.

41 “News Notes of the Suburbs – University Station.” The Seattle Post Intelligencer, 20 Nov. 1902, p. 6; 25 Nov. 1902, p. 6; 13 Feb. 1903, p. 9; 21 Feb. 1903, p. 6; 2 Mar. 1903; and Nielsen, p. 20.

42 Nielsen, p. 17.

43 “Large New Area Concreting.” The Seattle Daily Times, 17 Jun. 1902, p. 7.

44 “Better Sewerage for Varsity.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 24 Jan. 1904, p. 10; and “Suburban News – University.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 31 Aug. 1904, p. 8.

45 City of Seattle, Office of the City Clerk, Seattle City Council Ordinance No. 8098, 14 May 1902; and Seattle City Council Ordinance No. 15789, 18 Apr. 1907.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 46

Wilma, David W., Walt Crowley, and HistoryLink Staff. Power for the People: A History of Seattle City Light.

History Ink/HistoryLink.org in association with the University of Washington Press, Oct. 2010, p. 18.

47 “City Street Lighting.” The Seattle Daily Times, 4 Jan. 1901, p. 6; and “House-Light War Now On In Earnest.”

The Seattle Daily Times, 3 Feb. 1905, p. 1.

48 Phelps, Myra L. Public Works in Seattle: A Narrative History, The Engineering Department 1875 – 1975, edited

by Leslie Blanchard. City of Seattle, Roy W. Morse, City Engineer, 1957 – 1971, p. 152.

49 Wilma et. al, p. 24.

50 “What City Light Plant Gives Public.” The Seattle Daily Times, 16 Dec. 1908, p. 7.

51 “Telephone exchange starts for 90 Seattle subscribers on March 7, 1883.” HistoryLink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/875, accessed 12 Jun. 2020.

52 University of Washington. Tyee, 1903. University of Washington Library Special Collections online, pp. 297 and 306.

53 Tyee, 1904, pp. xix and xv; 1905, pp. XVII, XXXI, and XXXII; 1906, p. XXI; 1907, pp. 334, 344, and 345; 1908, pp. 345 and 347.

54 Plummer’s Business and Professional Directory of Seattle, 1909, p. 204.

55 Wheeler, p. 76.

56 Declaration of Intention for James Howarth Begg, United States of America, Superior Court, Pierce County, Washington, 29 Jun. 1893. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Naturalization Records of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, 1890-1957; Microfilm Roll: 30; Microfilm Serial: M1542. Ancestry.com, accessed 2 Jun. 2020.

57 Polk’s Directory for Tacoma, 1893, p. 184; and Marriage Certificate for James H. Begg and Ida Lewis Lister, 1 May 1893. Washington, Marriage Records, 1854 – 2013 for James Howarth Begg, Ancestry.com, accessed 2 Jun. 2020.

58 Wheeler, p. 76.

59 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1898, p. 159; 1899, p. 167; 1900, p. 181; 1901, p. 218; 1902, p. 226; 1903, p. 272; and 1904, p. 203.

60 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1905, p. 230.

61 Wheeler, p. 76.

62 Brunner, J. F. A History of University Lodge No. 141. 1934. Typescript. University Lodge No. 141 Archives, Seattle, Washington, p. 1.

63 “Suburban News – University.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 31 Aug. 1904, p. 8.

64 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 29 Aug. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

65 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 19 Sep. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

66 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 3 Oct. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

67 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 17 Oct. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

68 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 24 Oct. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

69 Johnston, J. W., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 7 Nov. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

70 Harvey, Paul W. Not Made With Hands: The Centennial History of Grand Lodge Masonry in Washington and Alaska, 1858-1958. Tacoma, Washington: The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, 1958., p. 76.

71 Letter to Worshipful Master James H. Begg from Assistant Grand Secretary H. W. Taylor. 10 Jul. 1905.

University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

72 Harvey, p. 76.

73 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 19 Sep. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives, Seattle, Washington; and “Building Permits.” The Seattle Daily Times, 23 Sep. 1905, p. 3.

74 “All Saints’ [Episcopal] University Place.” The Seattle Daily Times, 9 Sep. 1905, p. 5.

75 “Branch Library for University Community.” The Seattle Daily Times, 2 Feb. 1906, p. 4; “Big Debate on Tonight.” The Seattle Star, 8 Sep. 1906, p. 1; “Play Presented by Association.” The Seattle Star, 5 Jul. 1907, p. 1; and “Candidates’ Rally.” The Seattle Star, 26 Aug. 1908, p. 5.

76 Rathbun, J. C., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 12 Sep. 1904. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

77 Johnston, J. W., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 6 Feb. 1905. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

78 Johnston, J. W., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 20 Nov. 1905. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

79 Brunner, p. 6.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 80

Whitfield, J. A., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 6 May 1907. University Lodge No. 141 Archives; and Rood, F. A. Untitled presentation given to Charter Members and Past Masters. Nov. 1931. Typescript. University Lodge No. 141 Archives, p. 1.

81 Whitfield, J. A., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 6 Jan. 1908. University Lodge No. 141 Archives; and Rood, p. 1.

82 Moen, Jon R., and Ellis W. Tallman. The Panic of 1907. United States Federal Reserve History online, https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/panic_of_1907, accessed 2 Jun 2020.

83 Rood, p. 1.

84 Whitfield, J. A., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 7 Sep. 1908. University Lodge No. 141 Archives; and Rood, p. 1.

85 Report of Committee on Building. 5 Oct. 1908. University Lodge No. 141 Archives; and Rood, p. 1.

86 Whitfield, J. A., Secretary. Meeting Minutes. 5 Oct. 1908. University Lodge No. 141 Archives; and Rood, p. 1.

87 Rood, p. 1.

88 Purchase Agreement for Lot Twenty-Two (22) of Block One (1), Brooklyn Addition to the City of Seattle. 7 Oct. 1908. University Lodge Building Association Archives; and Deed Granted by Alice P. Gomoll and Edward L. Gomoll to Fred A. Rood. Recorded 4 Feb. 1907 in Volume 515, Page 618 of the Deed Records of King County, Washington.

89 “Masons to Erect Hall.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 25 Oct. 1908, p. 25.

90 Pacific Builder and Engineer, 31 Oct. 1908, pp. 11-12.

91 “Building Permits.” The Seattle Daily Times, 29 Nov. 1904, p. 11; and Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1905, p. 1035.

92 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1905, p. 954.

93 “Near State University.” The Seattle Daily Times, 18 Dec. 1905, p. 4; 20 Dec. 1905, p. 8; 22 Dec. 1905, p. 13; 25 Dec. 1905, p. 8; and “Near State University.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 24 Dec. 1905, p. 16.

94 “Apartments and Store Near University.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 8 Nov. 1908, p. 35; and “Washington.” The American Architect, 18 Nov. 1908, p. 26.

95 Pacific Builder and Engineer, 14 Nov. 1908, p. 8; 28 Nov. 1908, p. 6; and 3 Apr. 1909, p. 6.

96 Pacific Builder and Engineer, 19 Feb. 1910, p. 6; and “University Area Building is Sold by Hart Realty.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 22 Sep. 1929, p. 34.

97 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the University Lodge Building Association. 11 Jan. 1919.

University Lodge Building Association Archives; and World War I Draft Registration Card for Fred A. Rood, United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls.

Imaged from Family History Library microfilm. Ancestry.com, accessed 2 Jun. 2020.

98 Pacific Builder and Engineer, 11 Nov. 1921, p. 8; Domestic Engineering, 3 Dec. 1921, p. 467; and Harvey, p. 244.

99 “1910 Census: The 13th federal census shows Washington’s population growing at many times the national average; every county but one increases population; trend toward urban living is apparent.”

HistoryLink.org, https://www.historylink.org/File/9444, accessed 12 Jun. 2020.

100 Harvey, pp. 63 and 101 “Masons to Have New Home.” The Seattle Daily Times, 26 Sep. 1907, p. 7.

102 Hill, Robert C. To the Glory of God: A 50-Year History of the Seattle Masonic Temple 1916 – 1966. Seattle Masonic Temple, Inc., 1966, pp. 5-19.

103 “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 5 Dec. 1908, p. 8; and “Building Permits.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 6 Dec. 1908, p. 35.

104 “Lodge Cornerstone to Be Laid.” The Seattle Daily Times, 11 Feb. 1909, p. 7.

105 “Magnificent Day for A Sound Trip.” The Seattle Daily Times, 23 May 1903, p. 4.

106 “Masonic Temple Dedication Will Be an Elaborate Affair.” The Tacoma Times, 11 Jun. 1904, p. 4.

107 Letter from The Masonic Temple Association of Spokane, Washington to Worshipful Bro. James H. Begg, University Lodge U. D., 20 Jul. 1905. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

108 “Masons to Get A Temple.” The Spokesman-Review, 30 Mar. 1902, p. 1; and “A Beautiful Western Temple.” The American Tyler. 15 Sep. 1905, pp. 110-111.

109 “A Masonic Temple.” Aberdeen Herald. 18 Dec. 1902, p. 5.

110 “Brief Mention.” Aberdeen Herald. 13 Oct. 1904, p. 5.

111 “To Lay Cornerstone.” Aberdeen Herald. 19 Jun. 1905, p. 1; and “Tales of the Town Tersely Told.” Aberdeen Herald, 13 Nov. 1905, p. 5.

112 “Washington State News.” Aberdeen Herald, 11 Jan. 1904, p. 2; and “Washington State News.” Aberdeen Herald, 23 May 1904, p. 2.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 113

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Nomination for the Downtown Bellingham Historic District. 6 Nov. 2014.

114 “Dedicate Temple March 27.” The Evening Statesman (Walla Walla, Washington), 3 Mar. 1906, p. 5.

115 “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 17 Jul. 1909, p. 40.

116 “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 4 May 1907, p. 12; “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 25 Jun. 1910, p. 16; and “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 5 Nov. 1910, p. 32.

117 “New Masonic Temple, North Yakima, Wash.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 15 Jun. 1912, pp. 502-504.

118 Rood, p. 1; and State of Washington, Office of the Secretary of State, Articles of Incorporation of the University Lodge Building Association. 17 Oct. 1908. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

119 Meeting Minutes. 1 Feb. 1909. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

120 Minutes of the Meeting of the Trustees of the University Lodge Building Association Held on the 8 th Day of February 1909. University Lodge Building Association Archives; and Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1907, p.

1154; and 1908, p. 131.

121 “Sub-Station Offices Demoralized.” The Seattle Daily Times, 24 Dec. 1908, p. 4.

122 “Colkett Will Not Be Removed.” The Seattle Daily Times, 6 Jan. 1909, p. 8; and “Bigger Postal Substation.” The Seattle Star, 12 Jan. 1909, p. 5.

123 Brunner, p. 8.

124 Rood, p. 2.

125 Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University Lodge Building Association, Held March 1st, 1909. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

126 Meeting of the Stockholders of the University Lodge Building Association, Held March 20 th, 1909. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

127 Brunner, p. 8.

128 “Schultz [sic] to Superintend Construction.” Seattle Daily Bulletin, 24 Jun. 1909, p. 6.

129 The construction methods for “Class G” buildings are described in detail on page 18 of the Building Ordinances of the City of Seattle and Other Information for Architects, Builder and the Employes [sic] of the Department of Buildings. Seattle, Washington: Lowman and Hanford, Jun. 1909.

130 City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections Microfilm Library, Building Permit 78315, 25 Jun. 1909, 4336-4338 14th Avenue NE [University Way NE].

131 “Building Permits.” Seattle Daily Bulletin, 26 Jun. 1909, p. 8; “_.” Seattle Daily Bulletin, 1 Jul. 1909, p. 1; and “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 3 Jul. 1909, p. 6.

132 Author’s Note: For a much more in-depth analysis of the Masonic Building at the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, please see my article that was self-published in April 2020: A Forgotten Building By A Forgotten Architect At Seattle’s Forgotten World’s Fair: The Masonic Building At The 1909 AlaskaYukon-Pacific Exposition.

133 “Form New Red Men’s Tribe.” The Seattle Daily Times, 30 Oct. 1909, p. 14.

134 Telegram from Grand Master William R. Baker to Worshipful Master Fred A. Rood, 17 Oct. 1909. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

135 “Washington.” The Eastern Star, Dec. 1909, p. 14.

136 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1911, p. 476.

137 Rood, p. 2.

138 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1910, p. 308; and 1911, p. 268.

139 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1913, p. 1181.

140 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1914, p. 2003.

141 Letter from Grand Master William A. Baker to Past Grand Master Ralph C. McAllaster, 27 Nov. 1909, University Lodge Building Association Archives.

142 Rood, p. 3.

143 “New University Post Office Sub-Station.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 31 Jul. 1910, p. 43.

144 “Building Permits.” Seattle Daily Bulletin, 26 Jun. 1909, p. 8; and “_.” Seattle Daily Bulletin, 26 Jun. 1909, p. 8.

145 “Jno. Schulz, C.E.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 25 Apr. 1908, p. 170.

146 “Work Done by Jno. Schulz.” The Architect and Engineer of California, Jul. 1907, p. 110.

147 The Architect and Engineer of California, Jul. 1907, p. 88.

148 Engineering News, 10 Oct. 1907, p. 395; and Engineering-Contracting, 16 Oct. 1907, p. 230.

149 “Investigation Resumed.” The Seattle Daily Times, 26 Oct. 1908, p. 8

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 150

“Building Inspector Resigns.” The Seattle Daily Times, 22 Jan. 1909, p. 2.

“Assistant Building Inspector to Stay.” The Seattle Daily Times, 1 Feb. 1909, p. 7; “Changes Endorsed.” The Seattle Daily Times, 11 Feb. 1909, p. 8; and Schulz, John. City of Seattle Personnel Card, City of Seattle Municipal Archives, Record Series 6001-09.

152 “Thomson Gives Job to Old Friend.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 13 Jun. 1909, p. 21; and “Salary Cut Causes Provine to Resign.” The Seattle Daily Times, 30 Dec. 1909, p. 12.

153 “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 3 Jul. 1909, p. 6.

154 “Engineer’s Directory.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 21 May 1910, p. 42; and “The Los Angeles Architectural Club.” The Architect and Engineer of California, Jan. 1911, p. 101.

155 “Dislike Teuton Names.” The Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 1918, p. 13.

156 Rood, p. 3.

157 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1918, p. 703; 1920, p. 708; 1921, p. 570; and 1922, p. 624.

158 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1921, p. 1597.

159 “University Postoffice Will Have New Building.” The Seattle Daily Times, 14 Jul. 1914, p. 4; and “Terminal Station K Opened by Uncle Sam.” The Seattle Daily Times, 14 Dec. 1914, p. 9.

160 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the University Lodge Building Association. 7 Dec. 1914.

University Lodge Building Association Archives.

161 Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Trustees of the University Lodge Building Association. 4 Jan. 1915.

University Lodge Building Association Archives.

162 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1916, page 1010; 1917, page 1036; 1918, page 1993; 1921, p. 1371; and 1922, p.

1612.

163 Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the University Lodge Building Association. 6 Dec. 1915.

University Lodge Building Association Archives.

164 Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University Lodge Building Association. 11 Jan. 1918. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

165 Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Stockholders of University Lodge Building Association. 4 Mar. 1918; and Minutes of a Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University Lodge Building Association. 4 Mar. 1918. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

166 Meeting Minutes. 1918. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

167 Meeting Minutes. 3 Feb. 1919. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

168 “Seattle to Make Fight on Disease.” The Seattle Daily Times, 5 Oct. 1918, p. 1.

169 “Ban Will Be Lifted Here Tomorrow.” The Seattle Daily Times, 11 Nov. 1918, p. 1.

170 Harvey, p. 97.

171 Meeting Minutes. 6 Dec. 1920. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

172 Harvey, pp. 223-248.

173 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1930, p. 2120.

174 Polk’s Directory for Seattle, 1920, p. 292.

175 “Lodge Will Erect Home.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 2 Jan. 1921, p. 52; “Masons Lay Cornerstone.” The Seattle Daily Times, 10 Jan. 1921, p. 10; “Masons Dedicate Home.” The Seattle Daily Times, 11 Jun. 1921, p. 5.

176 “Clubs.” The Seattle Daily Times, 29 Apr. 1921, p. 4; “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 4 Nov. 1921, p. 5; “Green Lake Lodge to Lay Cornerstone.” The Seattle Daily Times, 24 Feb. 1922; and “Masons Start Temple.” The Seattle Daily Times, 26 Feb. 1922, p. 25.

177 “New Buildings Ordered.” The Seattle Daily Times, 19 Mar. 1922, p. 89; “Building Permits.” The Seattle Daily Times, 7 Apr. 1922, p. 25; “Plans for Masons’ Home Complete.” The Seattle Daily Times, 9 Apr. 1922, p.

45; “Ready to Work On $30,000 Building.” The Seattle Daily Times, 17 May 1925, p. 25; and “Masons Dedicate New $50,000 Home in Seattle.” The Seattle Daily Times, 16 Aug. 1925, p. 11.

178 “$230,000 In Buildings.” The Seattle Daily Times, 20 Apr. 1924, p. 11; and “New Lodge Buildings.” The Seattle Daily Times, 6 Jul. 1924, p. 22.

179 “Many New Buildings.” The Seattle Daily Times, 18 Nov. 1923; and “Building Permits.” The Seattle Daily Times, 26 Nov. 1923, p. 17.

180 “Evidence of Continued Real Estate Activities in Seattle.” The Seattle Daily Times, 7 Sep. 1927, p. 29.

181 “Work Opens on Masonic Home in Georgetown.” The Seattle Daily Times, 17 Nov. 1927, p. 3; and “Cornerstone for $30,000 Lodge Set.” The Seattle Daily Times, 4 Dec. 1927, p. 31.

151

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 182

“Start $10,000 Masonic Building.” The Seattle Daily Times, 12 Apr. 1921, p. 7; “To Lay Corner Stone Sunday.”

The Seattle Daily Times, 3 May 1921, p. 4; “New Masonic Temple Planned.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 8 May 1921, p. 9; and “_.” The Seattle Daily Times, 2 Jul. 1921, p. 4.

183 “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 11 Nov. 1921, p. 8; and “Masonic Building and Clubhouse North of City.” The Seattle Daily Times, 14 May 1922, p. 13.

184 “Masons to Lay Cornerstone.” The Seattle Daily Times, 26 Apr. 1924, p. 2; and “Masonic Temple Cornerstone Laid.” The Seattle Daily Times, 27 Apr. 1924, p. 20.

185 “Honor Grand Master.” The Seattle Sunday Times, 20 Jun. 1920, p. 5; and “Masons Honor J. H. Begg.” The Seattle Daily Times, 23 Jun. 1920, p. 4.

186 Meeting Minutes. 3 May 1920. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

187 Meeting Minutes. 6 Dec. 1920. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

188 Meeting Minutes. 6 Jan. 1921. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

189 Meeting Minutes. 6 Jun. 1921. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

190 Meeting Minutes. 5 Dec. 1921. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

191 Meeting Minutes. 15 Jun. 1923. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

192 City of Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections Microfilm Library, Building Permit Records for 4338-40 University Way NE 193 Ibid., and “Theaters and Halls.” Pacific Builder and Engineer, 9 Feb. 1923, p. 8.

194 Harvey, p. 129.

195 Meeting Minutes. 12 Nov. 1931. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

196 Meeting Minutes. 16 Jul. 1934; 30 Jul. 1934; and 15 Jul. 1935. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

197 Meeting Minutes. 1 Feb. 1936. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

198 Meeting Minutes. 17 Nov. 1938. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

199 Meeting Minutes. 9 Sep. 1941. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

200 Nielsen, p. 98.

201 Meeting Minutes. Oct. 1945. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

202 Meeting Minutes. 12 Mar. 1946. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

203 Meeting Minutes. 30 Apr. 1946; 22 Aug. 1946; and 5 Sep. 1946. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

204 Meeting Minutes. 24 Nov. 1947; and 5 Jan. 1948. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

205 Meeting Minutes. 11 Mar. 1948; and 29 Mar. 1948. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

206 Meeting Minutes. 23 Apr. 1948. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

207 Minutes of Meeting of Planning Committee [of] University Lodge. 12 Jan. 1949; 22 Mar. 1949; and 4 Nov. 1949.

University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

208 Meeting Minutes. 3 Aug. 1953. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

209 Meeting Minutes. 1 Mar. 1954. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

210 Meeting Minutes. 5 Apr. 1954. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

211 Undated letter from the University Lodge Planning Committee to the Brethren of University Lodge. Circa Jan.Mar. 1954. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

212 Undated Report of Building Committee. Circa Mar. 1955. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

213 Meeting Minutes. 8 Jul. 1959. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

214 Nielsen, p. 112.

215 Meeting Minutes. 7 No. 1931. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

216 “New Hostelry at University Will Open Tomorrow.” The Seattle Daily Times, 11 Nov. 1931, p. 12.

217 Nielsen, pp. 112-113.

218 Nielsen, pp. 111, 114, and 118.

219 Nielsen, pp. 115-116.

220 Nielsen, pp. 119-120.

221 Nielsen, pp. 122-123.

222 Nielsen, pp. 125-126.

223 Nielsen, pp. 126-128.

224 Meeting Minutes. 16 Jan. 1962. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

225 Meeting Minutes. 27 Jan. 1964. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

226 Meeting Minutes. 26 Mar. 1965. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

227 Meeting Minutes. 8 Apr. 1965. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

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A History of the University District Masonic Building Bro. Adam S. Alsobrook, AIA 21 September 2020 228

Meeting Minutes. 28 Jun. 1965. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

Meeting Minutes. 26 Jul. 1965. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

230 Minutes of Board [of Trustees] Meeting, 27 Aug. 1965. University Lodge Building Association Archives.

231 Ibid.

232 Meeting Minutes. 1 Sep. 1965. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

233 Meeting Minutes. 11 Apr. 1966. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

234 Meeting Minutes. 30 Aug. 1966. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

235 Meeting Minutes. Dec 1966. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

236 Meeting Minutes. 27 Dec. 1968. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

237 Meeting Minutes. 3 Nov. 1969. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

238 Meeting Minutes. 4 May 1970. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

239 Meeting Minutes. 7 Sep. 1974. University Lodge No. 141 Archives.

229

49