GPS City GuideDes MoinesScottish Rite Consistory Building

Stop 18 of 33 · Des Moines audio walking tour

Scottish Rite Consistory Building

Des Moines · 1926 · Neo-Classical Masonic Landmark

What you'll hear here: about a minute on Scottish Rite Consistory Building — the story behind what you're looking at, playing hands-free as you arrive.

Scottish Rite Consistory Building rises in front of you. Built during 1926–1927, this late-date example of Neo-Classical style was designed by Roland Harrison, a partner in Wetherell and Harrison. The organization that owns it—the Scottish Rite—still uses it, and other Masonic organizations do as well; it also doubles as a venue for weddings and other events. Inside, recent renovations have refreshed the banquet hall, and the lower floor of the auditorium had its carpet and chairs replaced. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Physically it occupies a corner lot, presenting stone-veneered "public" facades on the south and west sides, with short wrap-around extensions of that veneer on the north and east. Its plan measures 117 feet by 164 feet and it rises to about 80 feet tall. As you stand here, imagine the architects' intentions in those Neo-Classical proportions and the continued life of the rooms within, from ritual use to wedding receptions. Notice those stone-veneered facades facing south and west, with shorter wrap-around extensions reaching around to the north and east.

Where it is

Coordinates
41.59092, -93.62528
Area
Des Moines
Era
1926 · Neo-Classical Masonic Landmark
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Three stops free. No account needed. The audio plays itself as you walk.