Savannah Masonic Center is a historic building at 341

Bull Street Bull Street is a major street in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Named for Colonel William Bull (1683–1755), it runs from Bay Street in the north to Derenne Avenue (part of State Route 21) in the south. It is around 3.40 miles in length, ...

in downtown

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, United States. Standing in the southwestern corner of

Madison Square Madison Square is a public square formed by the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway at 23rd Street in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The square was named for Founding Father James Madison, fourth President of the United States. ...

, it was constructed between 1913 and 1923, to a design by

Hyman Witcover Hyman Wallace Witcover (July 16, 1871 – October 2, 1936) was an architect prominent in Savannah, Georgia. He worked as a draftsman for Alfred Eichberg and eventually partnered with him. Life and career Witcover was born in Darlington, South Ca ...

, previously the architect of

Savannah City Hall Savannah City Hall is the seat of government for the city of Savannah, Georgia, United States. Designed by architect Hyman Witcover, the building was built between 1904 and 1905 and opened the following year. It is a contributing property to th ...

. Today it is known as Gryphon, and is part of the

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Unit ...

(SCAD). The land on which the building stands was purchased in November 1895. Eight years later, a general appeal was made to the masonic community for additional support in financing the construction of a masonic hall. The corner stone was laid on June 30, 1913, by Robert L. Colding, Grand Master of Masons in Georgia. The building's construction was completed a decade later and deeded to the

Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...

. In July 2019, the building was sold to SCAD, which has previously leased part of it, and the Scottish Rite Masonic Center was moved to a new home on Chatham Center Drive.

References

{{reflist Masonic buildings completed in 1923 Commercial buildings in Savannah, Georgia Former Masonic buildings in Georgia (U.S. state) Madison Square (Savannah) buildings