Red Brick and White Columns: The Bayside Masonic Temple on Bell Boulevard
Red brick, white Corinthian columns and a design contributed by a lodge member gave Bayside’s 1923 Masonic temple its distinctive presence on Bell Boulevard. Follow the building from cornerstone and dedication through decades of community gatherings, later church ownership and a substantial expansion project reported in 2015.
Thirty-Four by Sixty-Two: The Whitestone Masonic Temple on 11th Avenue
Thirty-four feet wide, sixty-two feet long and sixteen feet high: Whitestone’s new lodge room opened in January 1922, before the dining room was finished. Explore the temple’s first winter, its dedication and Eastern Star chapter room, and the continuing Masonic life of the building at 149-39 11th Avenue.
A Village Lodge Before the Bridge: Whitestone Lodge No. 973
Whitestone’s Masons began in borrowed rooms in 1920 and dedicated their own temple in 1922. Follow Whitestone Lodge No. 973 through its founding ceremonies, shared home with Cygnus Chapter and working years before its 1972 consolidation with Metropolitan Lodge brought it into the continuing 273 line.
The Lodge That Commuted: Metropolitan No. 273, 1852–1972
Metropolitan Lodge No. 273 met in Manhattan while its members made homes across Brooklyn, Queens and the suburbs. Follow its changing addresses, family entertainments and Metropolitan Follies revue through the long middle of the 273 line, ending with its 1972 consolidation with Whitestone Lodge.
One Lodge Room, Two Temples: Arthur E. Wenige’s Queens Blueprint
One lodge-room plan connected two Queens temples. According to Advance Lodge’s records, Arthur E. Wenige’s firm supplied its Astoria building with blueprints previously used at Hillside in Woodhaven. Explore the architect’s Masonic connections and the room that remains in use at the Advance Masonic Temple.
Bayside’s Front Parlor: Lodge No. 999 and the Temple on Bell Boulevard
Bayside Lodge No. 999 built its Bell Boulevard temple barely a year after receiving its charter. Over the next six decades, Scouts, charitable groups, neighborhood organizations and visiting Masons filled its rooms. Explore the lodge, its member-architect and the building that became Bayside’s unofficial meeting hall.
A Signer’s Name, an Older Number: Francis Lewis Lodge No. 273
In 1986, Metropolitan-Whitestone and Bayside lodges joined under a signer’s name while keeping a number first issued in Manhattan in 1852. Explore the beginnings of Francis Lewis Lodge No. 273, the Brandeis consolidation of 2015 and the histories carried forward by the surviving lodge.
The 273 Line: How a Manhattan Lodge Number Came to Rest in Northeast Queens
A Manhattan lodge number found its way to northeast Queens through a division, three consolidations and generations of members. Start the seven-part series tracing Atwood, Metropolitan, Whitestone, Bayside and Brandeis—the five lodge histories behind Francis Lewis Lodge No. 273.