Ark Lodge #126, Columbia City, Seattle; John L. McCauley, 1921.
The facade is neoclassical, with four Ionic pilasters. At the top of the pediment, here obscured by the tree, is a Masonic square and compass, still intact. Below it, the lettering reads "Ark Lodge 126 F.& A.M.", or "Free and Accepted Masons".
Seattle architect John L. McCauley (1879-1957), himself a Freemason, designed and built this meeting space in 1920-21 for the Ark Lodge #126 chapter. The upper story served as the Masons' assembly space, while the ground floor provided income for the chapter as retail spaces. From 1921 until the 1940s, the ground floor was occupied by the Heater Glove Factory, which made leather gloves and helmets; Charles Lindbergh wore a Heater helmet on his transatlantic flight.
The Masons continued to meet here until 2002, when they sold the building, and it was converted to a cinema. The marquee was added and the second-floor assembly hall became a 204-seat auditorium. After additional remodeling, the building now contains four theatres.

arklodgecinemas.com/

Author

matthucke

Created on

Friday 9 August 2019

Posted on

Saturday 7 December 2019

Keywords

architecture, cinema, columbia city seattle, masonic, neoclassical, seattle, theater

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