silicone skyline wrote:Can you tell us Sojourner, what's it like inside a masonic hall, what is the layout of the furniture and the chairs etc.
The inside of a the hall can vary depending on where the meetings are held. The first masonic lodge in Adelaide was held in the function room of the Maid and Magpie hotel when it was first built. There are several lodges that meet in hotels still, the Lion in North Adelaide is one of several.
Still for the standard hall that you might see in the country or the suburbs the layout is fairly similar. The room has pew style seating running in three rows around the room. The Master of the lodge sits in a throne style chair on a raised platform always in the East of the building, on his side sits the Immediate Past Master, Visting Masters and officers of Grand Lodge along with the Director of Cermonies and the Senior Deacon. On the Southern Side of the building there is a specific chair for the Junior Warden - that is me in my lodge! In the West there are seats for the Senior Warden and the Junior Deacon.
On the wall on the Southern side are three boards that are veiled that are uncovered depending on which degree is being worked. 1st to 3rd. In the centre of the building is tiled rectangle floor area, Which has a block of rough stone and a block of completed stone placed on it along with some tools. There is an illuminated star in the centre of the floor and an illuminated letter G hangs from the roof.
Some buildings can have a wooden canopy over the masters chair, others have three large pillars built into the design of the building.
If you ever have the opportunity to drive past the lodge building on the corner of Commercial Rd Port Adelaide, that is an interesting building to look at. It has four Pillars on the front then a further two pillars around the side holding two domes as well as several other interesting features. The building is a replica of an Egyptian building and has a number of features on it that you dont notice until you look closely.
The Grand Lodge on North Terrace has guided tours every Thursday arvo where they take you through the complex including the lodge rooms which makes for an interesting tour!
