The SF Masonic Auditorium (originally the Grand Masonic Auditorium and formerly known as the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium) is a building and auditorium located atop

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The building was designed by Bay Area architect Albert Roller (1891-1981), and opened in 1958. It serves as the meeting venue for the Masons of California during their Annual Communication, as well as being used as a concert venue the rest of the year (operated by Live Nation). The administrative offices of the

Grand Lodge of California The Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of California, commonly called the Grand Lodge of California, is one of the two Masonic Grand Lodges in the state recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England (the other being the Most Worshipful Prince ...

are contained in the upper floors, and th
Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum of Freemasonry
is located on the mezzanine. The basement contains a five-level public parking garage. On the main (north) façade, there is a large

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

by Emile Norman bearing the inscription "''Dedicated to our Masonic Brethren who died in the cause of freedom''", depicting stylized servicemen from each of the four branches of the Armed Services, and a global

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

representing global struggles. Inside the lobby is a huge

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

window likewise designed by Emile Norman. The window depicts a variety of natural and

Masonic 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 ...

themes. It contains gravel and

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

from each of the 58 counties in California.

History

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 ...

came to California just prior to the Gold Rush of 1849. By 1850, a Grand Lodge was constituted in Sacramento, to oversee the Lodges operating throughout the State at that time (primarily in port towns along the Sacramento Delta and gold mining towns in the Sierra foothills). Construction began in 1861 for a new Grand Lodge building in San Francisco at the corner of Post and Montgomery Streets. It was completed in 1863 and destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The architectural firm of Bliss & Faville designed a new building for the Grand Lodge of California at 25 Van Ness Avenue which was completed in 1913 and occupied by them until 1958 when it relocated to the new building at 1111 California Street. The 25 Van Ness building is currently used by the Rent Board of San Francisco, but evidence of its Masonic history survives in the façade, lobby and other areas that bear Masonic motifs.

References

External links

Building History

California Masonic History

{{Authority control Masonic buildings completed in 1958 Buildings and structures in San Francisco Masonic buildings in California Music venues in San Francisco Nob Hill, San Francisco

History

See also

References

External links