Masonic Temple Building, Masonic temple at Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, United States.
The Masonic Temple Building is a seven-story tower on Fayetteville Street with Indiana limestone on its lower floors and lighter brick with terra cotta details in the upper section. The structure mixes office spaces with ground-level commercial rooms that open to the surrounding business district.
The structure was completed in 1907 and was North Carolina's first skyscraper built with reinforced concrete, designed by architect Charles McMillan. The building marked a turning point in construction methods and showed new possibilities for Raleigh's expanding skyline.
The building housed Masonic lodges that gathered here for their meetings and ceremonies. The retail spaces on the ground level connected the fraternal organization to the everyday commerce of the downtown area.
The building sits in the heart of the business district and is easy to reach on foot, with direct street access for visitors. The various levels are accessible, though the interior mainly functions as offices and retail spaces.
The building was a pioneer in using reinforced concrete, a relatively new construction method in the early 1900s. This innovative structure remains hidden beneath the classical facade, showing how advanced the engineering was for its time.
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