{"nrhp_refnum":"05000362","name":"Royal Arch Masonic Lodge","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"311 W. 7th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Austin","county":"Travis County","state":"TX","lat":30.271305566000024,"lon":-97.74543635099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-04-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Social History","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Beaux-Arts brick building at 311 West 7th Street in downtown Austin, Travis County, Texas, built in 1926 and designed by architects J. B. Davies and William E. Ketchum for the Lone Star Chapter No. 6, Royal Arch Masons.","why_significant":"It is argued to be locally significant under Criterion A for its role in social history, as a main meeting place for Austin's Masonic groups from 1927 into the 1950s. It is also significant under Criterion C as a well-preserved early-twentieth-century Beaux-Arts institutional and commercial building with Masonic symbolism. It retains a high level of integrity and is the last historic property on its block.","narrative":"Built in 1926 at 311 West 7th Street in downtown Austin, this three-story Beaux-Arts building was designed by architects J. B. Davies and W. E. Ketchum for Lone Star Chapter No. 6, Royal Arch Masons. Its buff brick walls over a steel frame carry cast-stone cornices, medallions and a Masonic seal with the letter G in the main pediment. Like many Texas lodges, it put offices and shops on the ground floor to produce income, while meeting halls occupied the upper floors. The second-floor Main Hall follows a traditional east-west Masonic plan with Ionic columns and a checkered floor. The lodge and the Scottish Rite Cathedral were the leading centers of Masonic activity in Austin from 1927 into the 1950s. The building keeps most of its original finishes and mechanical systems, and it is the last historic property on its city block. It is significant locally for social history and architecture.","period_of_significance":"1926-1955","architect_builder":"Davies, J. B., and Ketchum, William E.","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Beaux-Arts","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use: Masons meet on the upper two floors, and the ground floor and basement are leased for commercial use (an architect's office, a small news journal and a printing business).","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.08199-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/43/9738/40973843/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/05000362.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000362/03908fd806-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05000362/03908fd806-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"LoneStarMike","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RoyalArchMasonicLodgeAustin.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">LoneStarMike</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RoyalArchMasonicLodgeAustin.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973843","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Arch_Masonic_Lodge","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7373677"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/travis-county/royal-arch-masonic-lodge-05000362/"}