The Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586 timeline, 1856 to 2018: six charters, five consolidations, and the buildings and moves in between.
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A timeline promises a straight line. This one zigzags. The history of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586 starts on Grand Street in Manhattan in 1856, passes through Long Island City, Newtown, Elmhurst and Flushing, and reaches its final form in Astoria in 2018, with two branches of the family consolidating on separate schedules along the way.
Six lodges, five consolidations, three temples worth tracking. The entries below follow the calendar instead of the family tree, so charters, buildings and consolidations sit side by side. Full dates appear where established in the chronology used for this series; the earlier consolidations are given by year. See Note 1 below.
Four Charters, 1856 to 1873
September 1, 1856: City Lodge No. 408
The Grand Lodge of New York charters City Lodge No. 408. It meets at the old Odd Fellows Hall, 165–171 Grand Street, between Centre and Baxter Streets, on ground now counted as part of Little Italy and SoHo.
It is the oldest charter in the line and the only Manhattan lodge in it.
June 18, 1866: Island City Lodge No. 586
Island City Lodge No. 586 is chartered in Long Island City. Of all the numbers in this story, it is the one that will still be standing at the end.
July 2, 1867: Advance Lodge No. 635
Advance Lodge No. 635 is chartered as Astoria’s first Masonic lodge. It takes its name from the USS Advance, which gives an Astoria lodge a title borrowed from Arctic exploration.
The naming has an article of its own in this series: Why Advance Lodge Named Itself After the USS Advance.
June 20, 1873: Mizpah Lodge No. 738
Mizpah Lodge No. 738 is chartered in Newtown. By the time its temple rises in 1920 and 1921, the community will be known as Elmhurst.
Temples, Two New Lodges, and a Move, 1906 to 1938
September 8, 1906: Island City’s Cornerstone
Island City Lodge lays the cornerstone of its temple on Jackson Avenue, near Anable Avenue, in what was then known as the old City Hall block of Long Island City.
May 10, 1907: Island City’s Temple Dedicated
The Island City temple, completed that year, is formally dedicated by Grand Master Townsend Scudder.
November 20, 1915: Advance’s Cornerstone
Advance Lodge lays the cornerstone of its temple at the address now numbered 21-14 30th Avenue in Astoria.
Advance Lodge No. 635 and the Laying of Its Cornerstone follows the procession and ceremony.
April 24, 1916: Advance’s Opening Fair Begins
The fair marking the opening of Advance Masonic Temple begins on Easter Monday.
The temple will become home to the combined Advance, Island City and Mizpah branch in 1993, and later to Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586.
May 7, 1919: Geba Lodge No. 954
Geba Lodge No. 954 is chartered on Mizpah Lodge’s proposal. It first meets in rented rooms in Jackson Heights and moves into Mizpah’s temple in its early days.
January 1, 1920: Mizpah’s Cornerstone
Mizpah lays the cornerstone of its temple in Elmhurst.
March 17, 1921: Mizpah’s Temple Dedicated
Mizpah dedicates its Elmhurst temple. The building becomes home to many Queens lodges over the years.
1922: An Organ for Island City
An organ is installed in the Island City temple on Jackson Avenue.
May 3, 1923: Service Lodge No. 1009
Service Lodge No. 1009 is chartered in Flushing and meets at the Flushing Temple, 137-70 Northern Boulevard near Union Avenue, a building built and run by Cornucopia Lodge No. 563.
No. 1009 will remain through the Service City and Service City Geba names, leaving the combined lodge’s designation in 2018.
1934: The Courthouse Rents Island City’s Ground Floor
The federal courthouse begins renting the ground floor of Island City’s temple on Jackson Avenue.
1938: Island City Moves to Mizpah’s Temple
The federal courthouse now rents the entire Island City temple, and the lodge moves its meetings to Mizpah Masonic Temple in Elmhurst.
The lodge eventually sells the Jackson Avenue building to the federal government. The sale date and the date of its later transition to commercial use are not established here.
Five Consolidations, 1973 to 2018
1973: City and Service Become Service City
City Lodge No. 408 consolidates with Service Lodge No. 1009 to form Service City Lodge No. 1009.
The Manhattan lodge’s No. 408 leaves the lineage’s separate lodge designations after 117 years. The Flushing number stays.
1982: Geba Joins Service City
Geba Lodge No. 954 consolidates with Service City Lodge to form Service City Geba Lodge No. 1009.
Geba had met in Mizpah’s temple since its early years, and Service City had been meeting there by the late 1970s. The two lodges shared a building before they shared a name.
1987: Island City and Mizpah Consolidate
After decades of close cooperation, Island City and Mizpah consolidate to form Island City Mizpah Lodge No. 738, keeping Mizpah’s number.
Island City’s No. 586 no longer appears in the combined lodge’s designation.
1993: Advance Joins, and No. 586 Returns
Island City Mizpah consolidates with Advance Lodge No. 635 at Advance Masonic Temple.
The new Advance Island City Mizpah Lodge takes No. 586, by agreement, to commemorate the oldest Queens lodge in its lineage. Island City’s number comes back after six years away.
January 31, 2018: Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586
Service City Geba Lodge No. 1009 consolidates with Advance Island City Mizpah Lodge No. 586 to form Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586.
No. 1009 leaves the combined lodge’s designation after ninety-five years. The resulting lodge brings the six predecessor lodges into one lineage in Astoria.
The Merger History follows the five consolidations in greater detail. The Lodge Family Tree separates the two branches before bringing them together in 2018.
A Note on the Chronology
Some entries carry less detail than others. The consolidations of 1973, 1982, 1987 and 1993 appear by year because their months are not reliably established in the Grand Lodge material used for this series.
A few things are left open on purpose. The dates when Island City sold its building and when the building became a commercial rental are not given here.
A February 1936 newspaper notice places a district deputy’s visit to Island City at a temple on Whitney Avenue in Elmhurst. It suggests that some meetings had already shifted there before the full move recorded in 1938.
Mizpah’s Elmhurst temple was later sold to a church, but the date of that sale is not established here. Nor are the address of Geba’s rented rooms in Jackson Heights or the date it moved into Mizpah’s temple.
Where the Route Ends
Read down the page, the dates trace a route from Grand Street to 30th Avenue by way of Long Island City, Newtown, Elmhurst and Flushing.
The lodges behind Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586 were chartered across sixty-seven years, from 1856 to 1923, and consolidated across forty-five more, from 1973 to 2018. Lodges moved into each other’s buildings long before they merged. Island City and Mizpah shared a temple for forty-nine years before consolidating.
One address sits at the end of the line. The 1916 temple at 21-14 30th Avenue became home to the merged Advance and Island City Mizpah lodge in 1993, and later to Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586.
Sources and Notes
Grand Lodge Records
Charter dates, consolidation dates and lodge numbers follow the Grand Lodge of New York records identified for this project.
[Before publication: add the proceedings volumes and page references actually used, including the reference for the January 31, 2018 consolidation.]
Buildings and Meeting Places
Building dates, dedications, rentals and meeting-place details follow the lodge histories, anniversary accounts and newspaper material used for this series.
[Before publication: add the specific sources actually consulted, including the February 1936 newspaper notice. Confirm present-day building uses before adding current-use descriptions or a meeting schedule.]
Note 1: Dates, Numbers, and Earlier Working Notes
Some earlier working notes gave 1925 for the chartering of Service Lodge No. 1009, June 21 for Mizpah Lodge No. 738, 1865 for Island City Lodge No. 586, and No. 783 for the lodge formed in 1987.
The Grand Lodge chronology used in this series gives:
- May 3, 1923, for Service Lodge No. 1009’s charter.
- June 20, 1873, for Mizpah Lodge No. 738’s charter.
- June 18, 1866, for Island City Lodge No. 586’s charter, following its dispensation of June 18, 1865.
- No. 738 for Island City Mizpah Lodge after the 1987 consolidation, retaining Mizpah’s number.
The 1993 consolidation with Advance adopted No. 586 to commemorate Island City, the oldest Queens lodge in the lineage. City Lodge, chartered in Manhattan in 1856, is the oldest of the six lodges overall.
The earlier consolidations are given by year: 1973, 1982, 1987 and 1993. The final consolidation is dated January 31, 2018.
Start Here · Series Hub · Timeline · Previous Article: Merger History · Next Article: Geography · Related Directory: Master Members Directory · Related Member Profiles: Berger, Morris, Prowse
Related Reading
- The Merger History of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586
- Series Hub: Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586
- The Lodge Family Tree of Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586
- From Manhattan to Astoria: The Geography of a Lodge Lineage
- Why Advance Lodge Named Itself After the USS Advance
- Advance Lodge No. 635 and the Laying of Its Cornerstone
- The Advance Masonic Temple in Astoria: A Lodge Building That Endured
- Mizpah Masonic Temple: The Watchtower at the Center of Queens
