|
Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall also known as the Bishop Trust Building, is a historic structure in Hilo, Hawaii. Constructed between 1908 and 1910, it was designed to house commercial space on the ground floor and a meeting hall for a local Masonic lodge on the second floor. In 1985, the Masons moved to new premises, and since then the second floor has been rented to a variety of tenants. ==History== The Masonic Lodge in Hilo was founded in 1896 at the home of William W. Goodale. On October 15, 1897 Kilauea Lodge #330 was officially chartered. Named for the nearby active Kīlauea volcano, it was the first Masonic lodge on Hawaii Island. John Troup Moir (1859–1933) manager of the Onomea sugar plantation in Papaikou, Hawaii, was master of the lodge. He was also the first chairman of the board of supervisors for the County of Hawaii. A delegation from the Grand Lodge of California officially presented Kīlauea lodge with its charter in February 1898. The lodge met in a room of a building owned by Frederick S. Lyman, son of early Hilo missionaries Sarah Joiner and David Belden Lyman. The Lyman building was on leased land, so an association (with Moir as president) was formed to purchase a lot uphill from the town, assuming urban Hilo would grow in that direction. The association raised most of what they thought a building would cost by October 1900. When a federal building was being planned in Hilo around the same time, the lodge proposed swapping their land for a corner of the federal lot, but public protests prevented the deal at first. By January 1906 they were successful in arranging a deal with Territorial Governor George R. Carter to swap their land (desired for a school) for a more central parcel, paying the difference in value. Based on a sketch by freemason William McKay (1841–1909), architects were interviewed in Honolulu and the mainland. Henry F. Starbuck of Oakland, California was selected to design the building. He was a freemason and had designed several other lodges and churches. Harold Vaughan Patten was given as "architect" in one account,〔 but he probably served to supervise the financial aspects of the project since he was an accountant.〔 Plans were ready to be finalized at the end of March 1906. Construction was scheduled to begin in July when leases expired on the land which they were purchasing from the territory.〔 The 1906 San Francisco earthquake struck less than a month later, before construction could begin. Rebuilding of San Francisco after the resulting fire caused building materials to become scarce and more expensive, causing delays and cost over-runs on the Hilo project. Finally ground was broken in May 1908. In June Starbuck traveled to Hilo to oversee construction with workers he had selected. After a few months Starbuck and the workers were dismissed; Fred Harrison from Honolulu became construction contractor. The cornerstone was laid February 18, 1909.〔 The dedication ceremony was held on February 24, 1910. Construction cost ended up being double what had been planned.〔〔 At the ceremony Moir said "nothing but the best would satisfy the boys" and called it "a substantial, fireproof, earthquakeproof, up-to-date building, first class in every respect, a credit to the town of Hilo and the Territory of Hawaii."〔 It was completed about the same time as the Volcano Block Building and S. Hata Buildings within a few blocks in downtown Hilo. Just to the south, Kalakaua Park serves as the town square, flanked by the historic District Courthouse and Police Station and Hilo Federal Building finished a few years later.〔 The building was built of reinforced concrete in the Renaissance Revival style. It had three floors and a full basement. From the lobby, an elaborate granite stairway with an ornate oak balustrade leads to the second and third floors. The roof formerly held a garden.〔 The second floor consisted of a foyer, a ceremonial temple room of about by , and a banquet room about the same size. The temple included high ceilings with cast brass suspended lighting fixtures and an organ gallery. The Masonic order used the second and third floors as a temple until 1985, when they moved out to protest a liquor license being awarded to the first floor tenant.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall-Bishop Trust Building」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|