The Masonic Temple on North Broad Street is a massive exercise in Norman-style overkill. It was designed by James H. Windrim when he was just 27 years old, which suggests either the guy was a prodigy or he had some very high-quality caffeine. The building has been the headquarters for the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania since it opened in 1873.
Construction got weird and heavy. The cornerstone weighs ten tons. When they leveled it in 1868, Grand Master Richard Vaux used a ceremonial gavel. Here is the kicker: that was the exact same gavel George Washington used to level the cornerstone of the Capitol building in 1793. Talk about reusing equipment.
They didn't stop at the shell, either. George Herzog started the interior work in 1887 and spent fifteen years making sure the inside was as elaborate as the outside. They even imported Cape Ann Syenite from Upper Egypt for the exterior stone on Broad and Filbert Streets. That is a lot of logistics just to make a building look imposing.
Today, the place functions as the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania. It also hosts an event venue called One North Broad, which is probably a lot more civilized than the secret-society-heavy atmosphere the building's exterior suggests.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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