{"nrhp_refnum":"83004295","name":"Pythian Temple and James Pythian Theater","other_names":["York Rite Masonic Temple"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"861-867 Mt. Vernon Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Columbus","county":"Franklin County","state":"OH","lat":39.971120461000055,"lon":-82.97880459299995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 4-story brick and concrete fraternal lodge and theater building at 861-867 Mt. Vernon Avenue in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio, built in 1925-1926 and designed by the Louisville firm of Evans & Plato.","why_significant":"The nomination cites its Colonial Revival architecture and its role as a major community center for Columbus' Black population in the Mt. Vernon Avenue neighborhood. It is also the only known building in Columbus designed by a Black architect, Samuel Plato of Evans & Plato. The theater hosted performers such as Cab Calloway, Count Basie and Duke Ellington.","narrative":"Pythian Temple and James Pythian Theater is a four-story brick and concrete building on Mt. Vernon Avenue in Columbus, completed in 1926 as a lodge hall and theater. Its facade shows Colonial Revival details, including semi-elliptical arched windows on the top floor, leaded glass transoms, stone pilasters, terra cotta ornament and a blind balustrade at the cornice. Inside are storefronts, a 650-seat theater, a 1,000-seat public auditorium and lodge meeting rooms on the fourth floor. The building mattered as a social and fraternal center for the city's Black community, which had settled firmly in the Mt. Vernon Avenue area by the 1920s. Its stage hosted vaudeville, films and performers including Cab Calloway, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. The Louisville firm of Evans and Plato designed it; Samuel Plato was a prominent Black architect and builder. It is the only known building in Columbus designed by a Black architect, and is listed for both its architecture and its community role.","period_of_significance":"1925-1926","architect_builder":"Evans & Plato, Louisville, Kentucky, architect; L. L. LeVeque, Columbus, Ohio, contractor","architectural_style":"Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied and described as little altered from the original, apart from the loss of a canopy over the theater entrance. It has remained a fraternal and social center.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.218127-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83004295.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004295/08aa087787-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004295/08aa087787-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wdzinc","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pythian_Temple_and_James_Pythian_Theater.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wdzinc</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:Pythian_Temple_and_James_Pythian_Theater.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100011985","name":"Mt. Vernon Avenue Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/ohio/mt-vernon-avenue-historic-district-100011985/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988549","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arts_Complex","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7263867"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/franklin-county/pythian-temple-and-james-pythian-theater-83004295/"}