The George Washington Masonic National Memorial is a Masonic building and memorial located in Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. It is dedicated to the memory of George Washington, first president of the United States and charter Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 (now Alexandria-Washington Lodge, No. 22). The tower is fashioned after the ancient Lighthouse of Ostia in Ostia Antica (or Rome).Talbert, p. 211."Port of Trajan at Ostia">, pp. 60–61.Kocyba, p. 23. The Hutton, Margaret. "George Washington Masonic National Memorial." Washington Post. No date. Accessed 2011-03-21.Conroy, Sarah Booth. "Those Revolutionary Masons." Washington Post. February 16, 1992. memorial sits atop Shooter's HillColbert, p. 14.Smith, p. 79.Shooter's Hill is named for the Shooter's Hill area of South London. The Smith family, which owned Shooter's Hill, came from the Shooter's Hill area of London and claim descent from the explorer Captain John Smith. See: Smedes, p. 12; "Smith, William Morgan, M.D.", pp. 555–556. However, some archeologists believe the name was derived from the last name of an inhabitant in the 1740s. See: Allen, Mike. "City's Hill Holds 5,000 Years of History." Washington Post. May 22, 1997. (also known as Shuter's Hill)Voges, p. 198; Connelly, p. 125. at 101 Callahan Drive. Construction began in 1922,"Start Alexandria Memorial Temple." Washington Post. June 6, 1922. the building was dedicated in 1932,Shepperson, Charles M. "Masonic Fete Draws 150,000 to Alexandria." Washington Post. May 12, 1932. and the interior finally completed in 1970.Seghers, George D. "The George Washington Masonic Memorial Centennial Celebration." Scottish Rite Journal. January–February, 2001. In July 2015, it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its architecture, and as one of the largest-scale private memorials to honor Washington.
The memorial is served by the King Street–Old Town Metro station on the Blue and Yellow Lines of the Washington Metro. The station is located about four blocks from the memorial.
Early memorial efforts and Washington Memorial Park The idea to construct a Masonic memorial for George Washington was first proposed in 1852 by the Washington area's "mother lodge," Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4 (located in Fredericksburg, Virginia).Lichtenstein, p. 27; Brown, George Washington, Freemason, p. 305; Walker, p. 112. Funds were sought from Grand Lodges (state-level Masonic organizations) throughout the United States to construct a memorial Masonic Temple with a large statue in the vestibule.Lichtenstein, p. 27-28. Enough funds were raised to commission a life-size bronze statue of Washington in full Masonic regalia from the famous sculptor, Hiram Powers who was living in Rome, Italy.Lichtenstein, p. 28. The statue reached Alexandria in early 1861, just before the outbreak of the American Civil War. It remained on display in Alexandria until the summer of 1863, when it was moved to Richmond, Virginia. The statue was destroyed in the fire which occurred as Richmond surrendered to the Army of the Potomac on April 3, 1865.
Plans for a Masonic memorial moved forward again in 1909 after work on a competing memorial began. The proposed site for the new memorial was Shooter's Hill, which at one time had been seriously considered by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson as the site of the United States Capitol building.Rothery, p. 5; Laughlin, p. 17; Stevens, p. 243.Native Americans used Shooter's Hill as a seasonal base for hunting and fishing as far back as 3,000 BC. The first dwelling built by European settlers was constructed there in 1781. A plantation owner built a mansion on the hill in the 1830s, but it burned to the ground in 1842. A log cabin, a small frame house, and a large brick house occupied the site until 1861. The site also was used as a laundry and barracks after the Civil War. See: Allen, "City's Hill Holds 5,000 Years of History", Washington Post, May 22, 1997. On May 8, 1900, citizens of Alexandria formed the "Washington Monument Association of Alexandria" (WMAA), a nonprofit organization whose mission was to build a memorial to George Washington in the city of Alexandria. Little was accomplished in the organization's first few years of life, but in February 1908 the WMAA purchased an option to buy a tract of land on and around Shooter's Hill and the nearby Alexandria Golf Course."Gets Option on Park Site." Washington Post. February 27, 1908. This tract of land is today approximately bounded by Russell Road, Walnut Street, Upland Street, and Roberts Lane. Most of the land immediately on either side of King Street was subdivided into housing tracts and sold, with on top of Shooter's Hill reserved for a memorial."Monument to Washington." Washington Post. July 1, 1908. The sale of the housing subdivisions paid for the purchase of the entire tract, with enough left over to provide for construction of a memorial.
Within a month of the purchase of Shooter's Hill, the WMAA decided to build a park rather than a memorial."Push Public Park Plan." Washington Post. August 5, 1908. About were set aside for the George Washington Memorial Park, while another were set aside for a small memorial within the park. The new subdivision, named Fort Ellsworth (after an American Civil War fort which used to occupy Shooter's Hill), was platted in November 1908, and public streets laid out."Alexandria Park Assured." Washington Post. November 8, 1908.The street built on the southeast corner for Shooter's Hill would later be renamed Callahan Drive. See: "Early Construction of the Masonic Memorial." Alexandria Times. March 26 – April 2, 2009. Accessed 2011-03-24. Until the 1970s, the star-shaped outline of Fort Ellsworth could be seen from the memorial's tower. Gunpowder, spilled into the soil during the Civil War, served as a rich fertilizer which made the grass far more luxuriant than any surrounding the site of the former fort. But in 1974, the Ellsworth Gardens condominiums were built on top of this site, obliterating what remained of the fort. See: Brown, History of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial..., p. 103; "Ellsworth Gardens." Washington Post. March 30, 1974. The park was ready for dedication on April 30, 1909—the 120th anniversary of the inauguration of Washington as president. Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22 (George Washington's Masonic lodge, as well as the lodge he led as a Worshipful Master) was asked to preside over its dedication."Masons Asked to Preside." Washington Post. January 11, 1909. President William Howard Taft, Vice President James S. Sherman, Speaker of the House Joseph Gurney Cannon, Virginia Governor Claude A. Swanson, Virginia Lieutenant Governor J. Taylor Ellyson, the Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, Baltimore Mayor J. Barry Mahool, and numerous other dignitaries attended the dedication ceremony."Dedicate Park Today." Washington Post. April 30, 1909. (Shooter's Hill was incorporated into the city of Alexandria on April 1, 1914.)"Temple Plans Drawn." Washington Post. December 1, 1915.
Formation of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association There were several reasons why Masonic bodies finally began to build a memorial. The construction of George Washington Memorial Park sparked renewed Masonic interest in building their own memorial. But another reason was the safety of items owned or used by George Washington ("Washingtoniana") and which were now owned by the Alexandria-Washington lodge. The lodge had suffered several fires over the previous century, and a number of these historic items were destroyed. Constructing a fire resistive building which would more safely house these important items was a major factor in pushing the Masonic memorial forward.Solomon, Mary Jane. "The Father of His Fraternity." Washington Post. February 19, 1993.
In late 1907 or early 1908, Alexandria Commissioner of Revenue Charles H. Callahan (the deputy master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22) proposed to his fellow Masons that, at last, a memorial to George Washington should be built."Work on Alexandria Masonic Temple to Cease for Winter." Washington Post. December 26, 1924.Callahan was born in 1858 at Aquia Mills, Virginia. He married Mary Elizabeth Appich in October 1891. He was a clerk and bookkeeper for his father until 1905, when he was elected deputy commissioner of revenue for the city of Alexandria. He was elected commissioner in 1907. See: "Callahan, Charles H.", p. 682. Callahan proposed the construction of a $10,000 memorial temple.Shepperson, Charles M. "Symbolic Corn, Wine and Oil to Be Poured on Realistic Copy." Washington Post. May 1, 1932. In early 1908, the Alexandria-Washington Lodge formed a "local memorial temple committee" to research the costs and obstacles involved in building a memorial temple. The committee passed a resolution asking Joseph Eggleston, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, to approve the creation of a memorial temple and to assist in creating a national memorial association in which all Masons and Masonic organizations could participate.
On May 7, 1909, the Grand Lodge of Virginia called upon all grand lodges in the United States to meet in Alexandria on February 22, 1910, to discuss plans for organizing a George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association whose purpose would be to construct a memorial temple."Temple for Alexandria." Washington Post. February 15, 1910. President Taft, Representative Champ Clark, Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson, and Virginia Governor William Hodges Mann all spoke at the February 22 meeting."Taft to Address Masons." Washington Post. February 4, 1910; "Temple for Alexandria." Washington Post. February 15, 1910. The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association (GWMNMA) was formed at this meeting, and plans were adopted to raise $500,000 to go toward the cost of construction and another $500,000 for an endowment and maintenance fund."Masons Plan Temple." Washington Post. February 23, 1910. Thomas J. Shryock, Grand Master of Maryland (and a former treasurer of Maryland and brigadier general in the Maryland National Guard), was elected president of the GWMNMA."Masons Announce Plans." Washington Post. February 9, 1912.
At this point, the GWMNMA only planned to construct a Masonic temple, not a giant memorial. One floor was to be set aside for use by Masonic lodges, and one or more fire resistive, secure rooms in the temple were to be used for the display of Washingtoniana and historical documents owned by the Alexandria-Washington Lodge. By February 1911, the GWMNMA had ruled out all locations except Alexandria as the site for its memorial temple, and fund-raising activities were being planned."Taft to Meet Masons." Washington Post. February 22, 1911. A more formal association structure was also adopted at this time."Alexandria Will Be Host." Washington Post. February 18, 1911. But except for fund-raising activities, little was done in the association's first five years of activity.
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