The state government rented the Masonic temple for the gathering because the House of Representative in the Indiana Statehouse was too small to accommodate the 150 convention delegates.

[3] A reporter for the Locomotive Magazine sardonically described the convention scene on February l, 1851:[4] The chandeliers, you observe, these three big dark green things, like great dropsical spiders, swinging by gigantic cobwebs from the ceiling—are too clumsy, too low down, and really disfigure the Hall.

Those seats along the east wall are often full of ladies, when the Convention is in session, and it then looks like an oblong dirty apron, with a bright border down one side.Along with its intended role as a meeting and ceremonial space for the city's Freemasons, the hall's main auditorium became the first large-scale venue in the city for speakers, entertainers, debates and presentations.

In 1853, the Masonic Hall hosted fiery demonstrations and presentations by the city's black leaders and white anti-slavery speakers in opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act.

The events were touched off by charges leveled against John Freeman, an Indianapolis house painter wrongfully accused of being a runaway slave.

The Grand Lodge was forced to hurriedly purchase an adjoining lot immediately to the south to attach an architecturally incongruous assembly hall to the backside of the building.

The embarrassing errors and cost overruns, combined with the great economic Panic of 1873 nearly bankrupted the Grand Lodge.

During its heyday, the Hall hosted speakers, concerts, political candidates from all parties, debates, movies, and even new citizen swearing-in ceremonies.

By 1963, Indiana Masons had outgrown the auditorium and moved their annual meetings across the street into the larger (and air-conditioned) Indianapolis Scottish Rite Cathedral.

While many of the Masonic lodge meeting rooms look very similar, the seventh floor is dedicated to the York Rite appendant organizations.

It features a large Knights Templar asylum with gallery seating areas and open floorspace for marching in formation; an arched Royal Arch Chapter Room and 'secret vault' area; and a small Red Cross Room that is decorated in a unique Egyptian revival motif with murals and custom furniture original to the building.

Originally covered in tile, the rooftop was used for drill team practice by the Knights Templar, as well as open air parties and dinners with a view of the city.