The George Washington Masonic National Memorial

Here follows an excerpt from the Atlas Obscura website:

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Alexandria, Virginia
This stately building in Alexandria, Virginia was built by Freemasons to honor one of their most famous members.

If you’ve visited the National Mall in Washington, D.C., you’ve probably found yourself thinking, “Hmm, Lincoln, MLK, war veterans, Native Americans — sure sure, all fine and good, but how about some recognition for the Freemasons?” Well, good news: all you have to do is cross the Potomac, head down to Alexandria, and check out the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

Sitting atop a hill overlooking Old Town Alexandria, the memorial is dedicated to noted Mason (and first President) George Washington, celebrating him and American Freemasonry, as well as serving as a functional lodge and meeting/event space. The structure stands 333 (!) feet tall, was built to resemble the ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria (!), and consists of nine (!) floors variously dedicated to Washington, Freemasonry, and specific rites and appendant bodies.

The idea for a Masonic memorial to George Washington goes all the way back to 1852, but the project did not actually get underway until 1909, when a plot of land was purchased and fundraising began in earnest. Support for the project was driven not only by a desire to honor Washington, but also to create a permanent, fireproof home for the collection of Washington’s personal effects (a.k.a., “Washingtoniana”) owned by the Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 (Washington’s Masonic lodge, which he had led for a time as the lodge’s Worshipful Master). Ground was broken in 1922, and the memorial was officially dedicated in 1932 in a ceremony attended by thousands. A special Masonic ritual was created for the dedication that involved pouring wine, oil, and corn onto a model of the memorial that, for some reason, had been made in a nearby prison. The U.S. House of Representatives shut down so that members could attend the dedication.

While the all-granite structure and interior of the memorial was largely completed by the time of the dedication ceremony, the interior remained largely vacant and would not be fully finished until 1973. The first two floors consist of various halls and meeting rooms, while the upper floors contain the George Washington Museum (fourth floor), the Memorial Library (sixth floor), and various other attractions such as a replica Ark of the Covenant (fifth floor), a symbolic replica of the crypt beneath the Temple of Solomon (seventh floor), and a recreation of King Solomon’s throne room (ninth floor). If you want to learn more about the memorial, check out its excruciatingly detailed Wikipedia entry, including all 234 footnotes. It makes one suspect that the first Freemason was a guy who read that part of the Old Testament that resembles a contractor’s punch list from the Temple of Solomon construction project and exclaimed, “Now THAT’S what I call esotericism!”

The first and second floors are freely open to the public; docent-led tours of the upper floors occur every hour. When you’re on the second floor, be sure to check out the statue of George Washington in Masonic regalia, as well the Memorial Hall and the Memorial Theater, both of which served as filming locations for — you guessed it — National Treasure: Book of Secrets.

Know Before You Go
About four blocks from the King Street - Old town metro stop on the Blue and Yellow lines of the Washington Metro


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website as written by the Regents Bachelor of Arts Program:

Introduction
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial honoring the first President of the United States. Built by his fellow Masons between 1922 and 1932 at a cost of six million dollars, the 333-foot-tall memorial was inspired by a mixture of classical European buildings and modeled after the ancient lighthouse at Alexandria. It is located atop Shooter's Hill (also known as Shuter's Hill) in Alexandria, Virginia. The site is a tourist destination; research center and library; community center; performing arts center and concert hall; banquet and celebration site; and a meeting site for local and visiting Masonic lodges and organizations.

Backstory and Context
During his life, President George Washington was primarily associated with two lodges in Virginia: the Fredericksburg Lodge, his Mother Lodge; and Alexandria Lodge No. 22 in Alexandria, Virginia, where he served as Charter Master under the Grand Lodge of Virginia.

Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 first proposed the idea of a Masonic memorial to Washington in 1852, with funds being sought from Grand Lodges throughout the country. The Alexandria-Washington Lodge had become the repository of many artifacts concerning Washington his family, but the facilities were inadequate for the display and storage of the items. In 1871, a fire in the Lodge destroyed much of the collection. The conflagration led Charles H. Callahan, Senior Warden of Alexandria-Washington Lodge, to purchase several lots on Shuters Hill in 1909 for the construction of a fire-proof Lodge Hall.

In 1910, Masonic leaders from around the U.S. gathered at Alexandria Lodge and created the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association. The objects of the Association, as set forth in its Constitution, are "to erect and maintain in the City of Alexandria, Virginia, a suitable Memorial Temple to George Washington, the Mason, one which shall express in durability and beauty the undying esteem of the Freemasons of the United States for him in whose memory it shall stand throughout the coming years.”

American architect and Freemason Harvey Wiley Corbett drew up the initial plans for the Memorial. It was originally designed as a Neoclassical three-story memorial temple topped by a three-story tower. However, numerous revisions to the design occurred until 1922. Ultimately, the Grand Lodges of the United states approved the idea of a colossal building designed as a Memorial "lighthouse" to Washington.

On June 5, 1922, the groundbreaking ceremony took place. Constructed proceeded as funds became available for each stage of the project, even throughout the Great Depression. The cornerstone was dedicated in a Masonic ceremony on November 1, 1923. This event was conducted in front of an audience comprised of such notable figures as President Calvin Coolidge, former President and Chief Justice William H. Taft, in addition to a crowd of thousands of Freemasons from across the country. On May 12, 1932, 200 years after Washington's birth, the Memorial was dedicated, with President Herbert Hoover in attendance.

The Memorial interior was largely built following World War II, and the building was finally deemed complete by 1970, though the marble facing and full illumination were not in place until three years later. A large square and compasses were added to the front lawn in 1999. The Memorial’s structure consists of nine floors, many of which are open to ticketed visitors. It is capped by a step pyramid with seven steps, with a light fixture atop the pyramid in the shape of a double keystone.