Former Grand Lodge of Louisiana [Now Hilton St. Charles] - New Orleans, LA
Posted by: 
NorStar
N 29° 57.055 W 090° 04.206
15R E 782783 N 3316958
The building, now the Hilton St. Charles, was built by the masons of Louisiana, and still has engraved about the entrance "Grand Lodge of Louisiana."
Waymark Code: WM2M2F
Location: Louisiana, United States
Date Posted: 11/18/2007
Views: 113
This building, which is now the Hilton St. Charles, was from its erection in 1929 to the mid 1980s, used as the Grand Lodge of Louisiana for freemasonry.
The date on the cornerstone is January 31, 1926. According to a web site, the building was dedicated on February 6, 1927 and the first Grand Lodge annual meeting was held the next day. In the 1980s, the Grand Lodge ran into financial difficulties and sold its building and occupied the former Masonic Children's Home in Alexandria, LA.
According to a staff person at the Hilton St. Charles, there was another hotel that occupied this building for a time, then they closed. Hilton then rennovated the building and opened this location in May 2007.
I had the privilege of being at this hotel for a few days. I inquired about the building and received a tour of the building.
The building bears much of its past as a Grand Lodge. First, there is the facade of the building which has the name "Grand Lodge of Louisiana" plus symbols placed above the letters. There is the cornerstone which also has a masonic symbol, as well as many names, including the architects and presiding Grand Master. I was told that the elevator lobby and check in room were mostly original. On several of the 18 floors there are function rooms that still have some of the ornamentations of the lodge rooms.
It's worth checking out!
Sources: Article retyped from the 1997 "The Louisiana Freemason" - (
visit link) .
Hilton St. Charles - (
visit link)
Home page of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana - (
visit link) .