Montrose Masonic Temple, Lodge No. 63 - Montrose, Colorado
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 28.830 W 107° 52.526
13S E 249176 N 4263047
Historic former Masonic Temple in Montrose, Colorado.
Waymark Code: WMBVXQ
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 06/25/2011
Views: 4
From historical marker:
The Montrose Masonic Lodge #63 received its charter in September 1886, holding its first meetings in the upstairs of the Thomas Hotel building at 448 E. Main. With rapid increases in membership, the organization soon outgrew its surroundings and entered into a contract with Buddecke and Diehl for the use of the upstairs of their brick building at 347 E. Main, where the organization remained for the next 25 years.
In elaborate ceremonies, the Masons laid the cornerstone of the newly completed Masonic Temple on March 11, 1911. A procession was escorted down Main Street from the old lodge hall by Company F of the National Guard and included the Grand Lodge officers and members of the fraternity from all over Colorado's Western Slope.
Built by well-known local contractors White and Okey, the Masonic Temple is the only building on Montrose's Main Street in which stone was extensively used for both structural and decorative purposes. Note the polished date and identification stones at the entrance and the Egyptian columns separating the second story windows. Constructed at a cost of $20,000, the building was designed as a temple and was in continuous use by the Masons until 1980.