The Number That Traveled East: Francis Lewis Lodge No. 273 and Its Queens Lineage
Francis Lewis Lodge No. 273 carries the number of a Manhattan lodge chartered in 1852. Follow the histories of Metropolitan, Whitestone, Bayside and Brandeis through three consolidations to a shared meeting place in College Point—and discover how an institutional number connects different generations of New York and Queens.
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.
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.
Henry C. Buncke of Anchor Lodge No. 729: A Ledger-Keeper Between Two Villages
Henry C. Buncke lived in Whitestone, served as Master of College Point’s Anchor Lodge No. 729 and built a public career with New York’s Board of Water Supply. Explore his brief tenure as Commissioner of Accounts, local banking and transportation interests, and reported assistance to Whitestone’s Masons in 1922.