Grand Lodge of California BY ALAN L. GORDON, SENIOR GRAND WARDEN
Alan Gordon stands with the Worshipful Master and officers of California Lodge No. 1
On October 18 and 19, I had the honor of representing our Grand Lodge at the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of California. For those of you unaware, the Grand Lodge of California has a special bond with our Grand Jurisdiction as it was founded, in part, by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. While I had met some of the officers of the Grand Lodge of California when traveling to the Conference of Grand Masters over the past couple of years, this was my first visit to the Grand Lodge in San Francisco, where they greeted me warmly and showed much appreciation that D.C. had made the effort to travel to San Francisco.
dark wood with marble pedestals in the pillar stations and alter. It is altogether beautiful in its construction. The charter of California Lodge No. 13 is on display in a two-sided glass frame. In 1848, the Grand Lodge of D.C. chartered California Lodge No. 13. That charter was then taken by boat to San Francisco (Ed. Note: That’s a really long trip!) and then to Sacramento, where in 1850, it was joined by 4 other lodges. California Lodge No. 13 thus became California Lodge No. 1 of the Grand Lodge of California. In fact, the back of the charter shows where the Grand Secretary and the Grand Master of California changed the charter so that it would be a California lodge.
Display showing the cover of the program The Grand Lodge in San Francisco is a for their Grand Lodge Session building with a full auditorium, museum, and library. While generally modern in design, there are two Once I saw the charter, this sent me on a quest. free-standing pillars on the front porch of the building, one on I first went the registration desk to see if there was anyone from the right-hand side and one on the left (you can guess what they California Lodge at the Communication. The Master of the lodge, symbolize), and the lobby has one wall which is entirely stained it turns out, is the president of the California Masonic Foundation glass, depicting all the emblems of Freemasonry, as well as the and has an office on the third floor of the building. history of California up to the time of the building’s construction.
There is a just-completed lodge room on the lower level which can be accessed by going through a library lounge and bar. The lodge room, called Freemason’s Hall, is constructed of rough stone and
22 The Voice of Freemasonry ISSUE 4, 2019
On reaching the third floor, I was first surprised by the size and openness of the space, all glass and chrome. I presented my card to the receptionist and was allowed to walk back to see the Worship-
