Originally intended as a meeting hall for the Freemasons, construction work began in 1927, but was halted in 1929 as a result of the financial crisis of that year.

The building, constructed in the Greek Revival style, is located prominently on Francis Street opposite the Rhode Island State House.

The opening of the Providence Place Mall next door across Hayes Street has made the site prime real estate.

[2] The adjoining building known as the Veterans Memorial Auditorium (VMA), located between the hotel and Interstate 95, was originally part of the same complex, and was connected to the unfinished Masonic Temple by a small structure at ground level.

[7] The Procaccianti Group of Cranston, Rhode Island, which bought the hotel in late 2012, denied any wrongdoing and called the boycott "misguided".