{"nrhp_refnum":"72000946","name":"Masonic Temple and Theater","other_names":["St. John's Lodge No. 3,A.F. &amp","A.m."],"category":"building","location":{"address":"516 Hancock St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Bern","county":"Craven County","state":"NC","lat":35.11098379900005,"lon":-77.04000149499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-03-16","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A tall two-story brick Federal-style lodge and theater building at 516 Hancock Street, New Bern, Craven County, North Carolina, built 1802-1809 for St. John's Lodge No. 3, A.F. & A.M., and designed by John Dewey.","why_significant":"The building has local historic value for its ties to prominent New Bern citizens and for its long continuous use as a Masonic hall and theater. It is also a fine Federal structure that remains much as built despite remodeling. Its most notable feature is the well-preserved set of mid-nineteenth century trompe l'oeil paintings in the Lodge Room, apparently unique in North Carolina.","narrative":"Built between 1802 and 1809 at 516 Hancock Street in New Bern, this tall brick building has housed both a Masonic lodge and a theater for over two centuries. John Dewey, a local house carpenter and member of St. John's Lodge No. 3, drew the plans and supervised construction. The theater was in use by 1805 and has operated almost continuously since, becoming a movie house in 1917. During the Civil War the building served as a Confederate arsenal and then a Union hospital. Additions in 1904 and later remodeling changed the exterior, and none of the original theater interiors survive. The top floor keeps its Federal Lodge Room, where trompe l'oeil paintings of Masonic symbols and virtues, painted in 1847, cover the walls and ceiling. Nearby Lowthrup Hall has served public gatherings since it was finished. The building was listed for its local historic value, its Federal architecture, and the unusually well-preserved painted decoration, which appears unique in North Carolina.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Dewey (house carpenter and Mason, named as architect in the 1809 consecration minutes)","architectural_style":"Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Excellent condition; altered; still in use as a Masonic lodge and movie theater.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:58.480206-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/7197/47719730/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/72000946.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000946/edf40992c6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000946/edf40992c6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tradewinds","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Temple_and_Theater.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tradewinds</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:Masonic_Temple_and_Theater.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719730","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonic_Temple_and_Theater","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6783795"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/craven-county/masonic-temple-and-theater-72000946/"}