Mendocino Masonic Hall, Masonic temple in Mendocino, California, United States
Mendocino Masonic Hall is a two-story building in Federal style with white wooden cladding and large windows on both floors located at 10500 Lansing Street. The ground level houses the Savings Bank of Mendocino County, while the upper level continues to function as the lodge meeting space.
Seven Masons living near Mendocino met in March 1865 above William Heeser's general store and petitioned the Grand Lodge of California for a dispensation, granted on October 23, 1865. Heeser donated the corner lot at Lansing and Ukiah streets, and Erick Albertson agreed in February 1866 to build the hall for $1,000, finishing it in 1873 because he kept working full time at the nearby lumber mill.
The roof displays a wooden sculpture incorporating Masonic symbols like an hourglass, broken column, and acacia branches. This carved artwork reflects the values held by the lodge members and remains visible to passersby from street level.
The building sits in downtown Mendocino and is easily visible from the street. Visitors should know that the upper floor serves as a lodge meeting space and may not be accessible at all times.
The cupola was added specifically to display "Time and the Maiden", which Albertson carved from a single redwood trunk over ten feet tall in a beach shelter at the mouth of Big River, lit only by oil lamps. The group depicts an hourglass, a broken column, a weeping maiden with an urn and acacia sprig, and an angel with a scythe.
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