{"nrhp_refnum":"73002220","name":"Mason's Hall","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1807 E. Franklin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond (Independent City)","county":"Richmond (city and county)","state":"VA","lat":37.533280449000074,"lon":-77.42636690499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-07-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Masonic meeting hall at 1807 East Franklin Street in Richmond, Virginia, built in 1785-87 as a two-story frame building on a high brick English basement, with a hipped roof and octagonal cupola.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it the oldest building in the United States erected for Masonic purposes and continuously used for that purpose, and one of Richmond's few surviving eighteenth century buildings. It also hosted civic events and figures such as John Marshall, Edmund Randolph and Lafayette. Despite later exterior and interior alterations, its simple white frame form retains elegance.","narrative":"Mason's Hall, at 1807 East Franklin Street in Richmond, is a Masonic meeting house begun in 1785 and finished as a frame structure in 1787. It rises two stories over a high brick basement covered in gray stucco, with a low hipped roof and an octagonal cupola topped by a weathervane bearing the Masonic insignia. A mid-nineteenth century remodelling added a pedimented portico with Tuscan piers and Doric columns, Greek Revival moldings and Gothic-style window trim. Inside, the second-floor chapter room features Palladian arches and painted Masonic ceiling motifs from an early twentieth century redecoration. The nomination calls it the oldest building in the United States erected for Masonic purposes and continuously used for them. Its history also includes use by the Hustings Court, where John Marshall gained early judicial experience, service as a hospital during the War of 1812, and a visit by the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824. Richmond Randolph Lodge No. 19 has owned it since 1878.","period_of_significance":"1785-86","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival remodelling (mid-nineteenth century) of an eighteenth century building","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in good condition, altered, and in use as a Masonic lodge.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:57.217371-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/67/6831/41683167/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/73002220.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002220/23125effb6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73002220/23125effb6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.0","author":"Taber Andrew Bain from Richmond, VA, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Hall_Hospital_(1656461298).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Taber Andrew Bain from Richmond, VA, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Masonic_Hall_Hospital_(1656461298).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000982","name":"James River and Kanawha Canal Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/james-river-and-kanawha-canal-historic-district-71000982/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41683167","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason%27s_Hall_(Richmond,_Virginia)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6783506"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/richmond/masons-hall-73002220/"}