photo by Ryan Hamlett
Good news! This awesome Indianapolis landmark can be yours for a mere three quarters of a million dollars! Though that sounds a little flip, I actually think the Irvington Masonic Lodge is worth every penny. This flat-iron shaped, brick and terra-cotta edifice at 5515 E. Washington St. exhibits the ominous lodge number 666, a fact made that much more interesting in that the building, currently houses a church on its uppermost floor.
The Irvington Lodge as construction was nearly complete.
Its foundation and cornerstone were laid 1921 and the building was completed the following year. As with many Masonic Lodges, the ground floor was designed with storefronts so that the lodge could reap rental income to support itself. Until 1950, Lodge #666 was home to the Irvington Post Office. It was rumored to be the home to secret Klu Klux Klan meetings in the ’20s (Indiana grand dragon D.C. Stephenson’s mansion was a few blocks away on University Ave.) and home to a few mischievous things that go bump in the night, but the Lodge’s official tenants are currently Lodge Design, Mosaic Church, Mystique Theater and Bookmamas Bookstore.
According to different sources, its architect is either a Charles Bacon or Henry Bacon, architect most famous for designing the Lincoln Memorial. My sense is that it’s likely the former, a fact I’ll know for sure and report on upon a visit tomorrow to the Bona Thompson Memorial Center, former home to Butler University, current home to the Irvington Historical Society and Museum and site of a future Room with a View.
Missing piece of terra-cotta exposing interior brickwork facing Washington St. – photo by Ryan Hamlett
6 Comments on "A Room with a View – Irvington Masonic Lodge #666"
My parents used to belong to that lodge…
Q Artistry, qartistry.org, and EclecticPond Theatre Company, eclecticpond.org both hold permanent residence on the 2nd floor of the Lodge.
I used to attend Job’s Daughter functions there on occasion…who currently owns the building?
Thank you so much for this FB page. I’ve been meaning to say that for awhile. It’s beautifully written and always interesting.
I remember going to a few auctions in that building in the early 1970s. My folks still have the mirror that they bought there.
The building appears to have a single entrance and it appears to have its principal floor on the second floor. Was the lodge meeting hall on the second floor and later the post office? Was there an elevator added later? I would suppose there is some kind of lobby arrangement to permit access and security to the upper floor while permitting free access by the ground floor tenents. You mentioned storefront windows for shops. What kinds of shops occupied the ground floor over the years? Was that arrangement successful? Were there ever the customary arrangements for for a person window shopping to be able to walk directly into the shop for further browsing or to make a purchase? How is that handled today? I am very hopeful that you’ll find a new life for the building.