{"nrhp_refnum":"04000402","name":"Allentown Masonic Temple","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1524 W. Linden St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Allentown","county":"Lehigh County","state":"PA","lat":40.59866331100005,"lon":-75.48998295599995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-05-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Classical Revival fraternal building, the Allentown Masonic Temple, on the south side of West Linden Street between Fulton and Sixteenth Streets in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1923 and 1925 of limestone and brick, with a Scottish Rite Cathedral added to the south in 1968.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building is significant as the headquarters of Allentown Freemasons, a community gathering place used for Masonic, civic and social activities. It also argues the building is a large, intact example of Classical Revival architecture in Allentown, with interior murals and stencil work by Gustave A. Brand.","narrative":"Built between 1923 and 1925 on a rise at the western edge of Allentown's development at the time, the Masonic Temple is a limestone and brick Classical Revival building with four fluted composite columns across its north entrance. Its entrance vestibule and lobby are finished in gray marble and quarry and Mercer tile. Richard G. Schmid of Chicago designed the building, and the general contractor was William H. Gangeware and Co. of Allentown. The building served as the headquarters of Allentown Freemasons from 1922 onward, after the lodges had met in rented halls since 1817. Its large halls hosted banquets, parades, band concerts and community events, and a public inspection in 1926 drew large crowds. It also contains murals and stencil work by Chicago muralist Gustave A. Brand. The nomination regards it as one of the largest Classical Revival buildings in Lehigh County.","period_of_significance":"1923-1953","architect_builder":"Richard G. Schmid (architect); William H. Gangeware and Co. (general contractor)","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"In use for Masonic purposes; the nomination states the building is still used for Masonic purposes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:38.030418-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/04000402.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000402/9a2ab205b9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000402/9a2ab205b9-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011_-_Allentown_Masonic_Temple.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2011_-_Allentown_Masonic_Temple.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994489","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allentown_Masonic_Temple","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4732066"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lehigh-county/allentown-masonic-temple-04000402/"}