Scottish Rite Cathedral - Indianapolis, Indiana
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 39° 46.568 W 086° 09.475
16S E 572114 N 4403249
Well known historic landmark in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.
Waymark Code: WMDDQD
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 12/30/2011
Views: 9
The SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL, NW. corner of Meridian and North Sts., is an imposing structure of Tudor Gothic design, built of Indiana limestone in 1929. Ave the entrance on Meridian Street rises a square tower 212 feet high, with finials of the cross on top. In this tower is a great carillon, with 63 bells, the smallest 6 inches and weighing 12 pounds, the largest 7 feet in diameter and weighing 11,200 pounds. The lounge, lobby, and other rooms of the interior are elaborately decorated. The Elizabethan period banquet hall below the street level seats 3,500 persons. The grand salon and ballroom of the same period has a balcony supported by free-standing square columns. Ritual work is given in the auditorium, which seats 1,200. The 5,000-pipe organ is played from a console on the upper balcony; an echo organ 500 pipes is concealed above.
The auditorium, Tudor Gothic in style, has dark oak hammered beams. Eight sets of stained-glass windows represent symbols of the Rite. The stage, with complete modern electrical equipment, has a proscenium opening 38 feet wide and 28 feet high. - Indiana: A Guide to the Hoosier State, Indianapolis section, pgs. 213-214.
The building has become a well known landmark in Indianapolis. It continues to serve as the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The building is noted for all the dimensions being divisible by three (reflecting the three degrees in Freemasonry) and many divisible by 33 (reflecting the degrees a member of the Scottish Rite can achieve). The carillon is now listed as having 54 bells. The building is well maintained. Tours are offered on weekday mornings and on the third Saturday each month.