The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple (formerly the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral) is a theatre and cultural center in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. The Cultural Center's mission statement is "to rejuvenate a national architectural structure as a regional center for arts, education and community activities appealing to all ages." The Cultural Center hosts national Broadway tours; professional and local musical and dramatic theatre offerings; local, regional and national orchestral and popular music, dance and opera; comedians, lecturers, art exhibits, a children's and performing arts academy and various classes as well as fundraiser galas and special events including proms, luncheons, private parties and is a popular wedding ceremony and reception venue. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Architect

Raymond Hood Raymond Mathewson Hood (March 29, 1881 – August 14, 1934) was an American architect who worked in the Neo-Gothic and Art Deco styles. He is best known for his designs of the Tribune Tower, American Radiator Building, and Rockefeller Center. Th ...

, with Godley & Fouilhoux and Harry V. K. Henderson, designed the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, which houses the Scranton Cultural Center, the current operating organization for the building.Cultural Resources Group, 1997, NRHP Nomination Form for Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite CathedralEnter "public" for ID and "public" for password to access the site. The Masonic Temple is designed in a combination of

Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th cent ...

and

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

— Richardsonian Romanesque with contemporary Art Deco influences. The building was completed in 1930. The temple was designed with a dual nature; it was built to house the Scottish Rite Cathedral and a Masonic lodge while housing spaces (primarily the theater and ballroom) that were intended for public use. The design of the building is a tribute to

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. The Masonic Temple houses: The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Theatre which seats 1,866 for concerts, lectures, national Broadway tours, dance and other entertainment; the Governor Robert P. Casey Library; the Raymond Hood Room (renovated from the original bowling alley); a Junior Ballroom, utilized both as event space and for the Children's and Performing Arts Academy summer and after school programs; a Grand Ballroom which can hold 2,400 for standing room performances and is host to elegant weddings, community fundraisers and galas -it was designed to seat 1,000 for dinner and was the largest ballroom in the region at the time; a "Ladies Parlor" overlooking the Grand Ballroom; Shopland Hall (originally Norman Hall), a 500-seat theatre and lodge hall located on the 4th floor, Craftsmen Hall (originally the gaming and billiard room) on the 3rd Floor as well as Snyder and Gazda Hall (originally Tuscan and Flemish Halls - named for their decor) which serve as the primary Lodge rooms for the Masonic Fraternity. Both the Weinberg Theatre and Shopland Hall are equipped with Austin Organs (numbers 1713 and 1712 respectively). Most of the facility is open for public usage and rental through the year. Visitors to Scranton can visit the Temple and take a tour that highlights the architecture of the building as well as its present-day uses.

Performances

The Cultural Center features a wide variety of entertainments and programs. It has hosted performances by contemporary musical artists, including

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

, Dave Matthews, N Sync,

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

, and Maroon 5. Performances from Jackson Browne,

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series '' Lewi ...

Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of Dreve, his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original ...

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercu ...

, and

The Amazing Kreskin The Amazing Kreskin (born George Joseph Kresge; January 12, 1935), also known as Kreskin, is an American mentalist who became popular on television in the 1970s. He was inspired to become a mentalist by Lee Falk's comic strip ''Mandrake the M ...

have entertained in recent years, the venue has played host to the regiona
Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic
Orchestra and many others. Th
Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern Pennsylvania
has produced an annual season of national Broadway tours for over 50 years at the venue, including "

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

," " Cats," " Mamma Mia!," " Les Miserables," "

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of the ...

," and "

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude dat ...

." In December 2014, the Scranton Cultural Center premiered the fully realized stage version of the musical comedy, Harry Connick Jr.'s " The Happy Elf."

Description

Construction of the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral was begun in 1927 on the site of two former mansions. Construction of the building took three years with the Temple inauguration taking place on January 2, 1930 when the first meeting was held in the building; it was formally dedicated in May 1930. The rectangular plan building is clad in coursed ashlars of Indiana limestone supported by the structural steel framework. At approximately , the building houses two theaters, public and masonic meeting rooms and event spaces, a grand ballroom, as well as numerous other offices, rooms and areas. There are ten levels of the building, five of which can be accessed by elevator. The remaining five levels include a storage and dressing room floor, penthouse for elevator equipment and storage, a small light room in the northwest corner of the main core, and a two-level sub-basement sixty feet below the basement floor.

Masonic symbols

Symbols of Masonry can be found throughout the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, although it may not be apparent to those unfamiliar with the Craft. Shopland Hall, the small theater on the fourth floor, contains many Masonic symbols. An image of the Crusade is depicted above the stage, as well as shield motifs. These are important symbols to the Masonic Fraternity. Two-headed eagles are depicted on the ceiling of the theater. Frederick of Prussia introduced the symbol of the two headed eagle when the Scottish Rite was in its formative stages. The two-headed eagle, along with other symbols of various branches as well as the four cardinal virtues are engraved on the exterior of the building. The Robert P. Casey Library features a quintessential symbol of the Freemasons, a shovel, a pick, and a crowbar, in a glass case. Not only are these three items symbols of Masonry, but they were also used in the ceremonial groundbreaking and the accompanying ceremonial trowel was used in the laying of the cornerstone during the construction of the Masonic Temple. Also in the Casey Library is a grandfather clock that features many Masonic Symbols carved into the wood, including the shovel, pick, and crowbar motif, as well as the symbol of the square and the compass with letter “G” in the center.

Future

The Scranton Cultural Center began a multimillion-dollar restoration project in the mid-1990s. Electrical services were updated and air conditioning was installed for the theatre, grand ballroom, main lobby and lower level. Expanded and ADA compliant restrooms were added and the new Raymond Hood Room were installed in the former bowling lanes space. The ballroom's ornate walls and ceilings were also restored. In 2014, the Junior Ballroom was updated to provide space for the newly begun children and youth theatre program classes and summer camp sessions, including improvements for mobility access. In the spring of 2015, air conditioning was added to Shopland Hall and the third floor lodge rooms. Roof and masonry repairs, further HVAC upgrades and expansion, plumbing upgrades, as well as updates and restoration to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Theatre, main organ, and stage house and mechanics are slated for the coming years.

References