Century-old Masonic building in Zanesville held a trove of architectural detail
Many mid-to-large cities have gathering places for Masons, or Freemasons, the centuries-old fraternal organizations that celebrate the local guilds of stonemasons that helped construct those very cities.
Before its fiery destruction Thursday night in downtown Zanesville, the six-story stone and brick Masonic Temple Building at 36-42 N. Fourth Street was a prime example of the skills employed, allowing the original structure to outlive its closest neighbors. Its cornerstone was laid June 24, 1902.
The building had two principle facades, built in the Second Renaissance Revival style. The one facing Fourth Street, toward the Muskingum River, is what appears in most photographs. The other, facing south, opened into a park, which no longer is there, but which provided frontage for the county courthouse.
Fire: Businesses surrounding Zanesville's Masonic Temple ordered to close following major fire
Fire: Muskingum County preparing for collapse of Zanesville's historic Masonic Temple after fire
Photos: Masonic Temple in downtown Zanesville destroyed by fire
The building was designed by Oscar Cobb & Son of Chicago and built by Robert H. Evans & Co. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 25, 1990.
The building had a variety of uses. In the 1980s, there was a license bureau on the first floor, shown in old photographs from the National Archives Catalog database. It had been home to banks, insurance companies and a music store.
The north and east sides of the building had exterior fire escapes, harkening to an era of less-stringent building and fire codes and before the advent of sprinkler systems.
The interior, built in the Egyptian Revival style, had a treasury of ornate carvings, one photograph showing a globe set atop an ornate column extending from the floor to a first-floor stairway landing.
The ornamental carvings of antiquities included faces of ancient gods and palm trees carved into columns flanking a speakers platform in the sixth-floor lodge room.
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@DeanNarciso
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Masonic Temple in Zanesville held trove of architectural detail
