Scavenger Hunt: The Shriners

Continuing with my discussion last Friday about how the 1920s saw a rise in the popularity of fraternal organizations following the discovery of King Tut's tomb, I present the (former) Mecca Temple of the Shriners.  The official name of this society is the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and it was founded in New York in 1872. (Ch. 143) It's actually a society within a society, the Masons, with an emphasis on camaraderie over ritual. I'm thinking the founders liked to par-tay 19th century style.  What I find particularly interesting is that one of the founders, an actor named William Florence, had the idea to shape it around Islamic and "Oriental" imagery.  (Ch. 143) Can you imagine someone in a pseudo-Christian organization doing that today? I just can't. Maybe I don't give people enough credit but still, I find it very cool that the Shriners did it. The most notable symbol is the fez, worn at public events. (Ch. 143)  I believe my grandfather was a Shriner... I have vague memories of fez wearing.  Maybe he was just a cool guy? :)

Now, to the landmark. In 1922, because the membership of the Shriners became so ridiculous they had to rent out Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden for their events, they hired an architect to build the Mecca Temple, which is located on West 55th Street.  (Ch. 143) For context, this sucker is two blocks north of my old apartment and 2 blocks east (read: super close). It was designed in a "Moorish Revival style" (reminding me of our trip to Granada and the Alhambra).  Apparently, the giant dome on top is covered in 28,000 individual terracotta tiles.  (Ch. 143) Unfortunately, the Shriners lost the building 1943, but Mayor La Guardia reopened the temple that same year as the City Center for the Performing Arts, which it still is today. (Ch. 143)

You can see the dome here. It's always so amusing to see old buildings next to modern glass skyscrapers.

The front.  The construction was frustrating.  As you will begin to see, a lot of the places I went to see in the last few weeks I had (without warning!) in NYC were under construction and so the photos aren't the best.  But I still saw them so I'm not too upset.

This is what the front should look like.  We'll just pretend I saw it that way.