Masonic Hall (Manhattan)

On June 24, 1826, St. John's Day, the cornerstone was laid for a Gothic style Masonic Hall on Broadway in lower Manhattan between Reade and Pearl Streets, directly across from the original site of the New York Hospital, and today the location of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building.

On June 8, 1870,[12] the cornerstone was laid for a new Second French Empire Style building at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue which served as the headquarters of the Grand Lodge from 1875 to 1909.

[13] The building was designed by Napoleon LeBrun and due to the Panic of 1873 would take four years to complete, at the staggering cost of $1.279 million.

In addition, by the turn of the 20th Century, the Second Empire style was already considered outdated and coupled with rising New York City real estate prices, the building was replaced with the current and more modern skyscraper.

St. John's Lodge held the first meeting in the new building on September 8, 1909, using the George Washington Bible and presenting a Master Mason degree that evening.

The lodge rooms are decorated and named after a variety of architectural styles including Corinthian, Doric, Egyptian, Gothic, Ionic, Jacobean, and Renaissance.

[21] The Hall's interior was restored and underwent a $15 million renovation[16] from 1986 to 1996 by Felix Chavez and his company Fine Art Decorating.

Due to its acoustical properties, tracking for Joe Jackson's 1984 album Body and Soul was completed in the building's Grand Lodge Room.

In 2017, comedian Jerrod Carmichael's second stand-up comedy special, 8, directed by Bo Burnham, was also filmed in the Grand Lodge Room.