Evening Star Newspaper, April 10, 1932, Page 69

Features Art Notes he Sundy Stat WASHINGTON, D. C, That Great Temple of Granite Magasine ,\l;l(I[, 10, 1932. 2) PAGES. = — Masonic Memorial on Shooters Hill, Alexandria, Is Almost Réeady for Colorful Dedication Ceremonies of May 12— Construction Has Been Going on for Ten Years, and the Beautiful Tozer Will Cost Four Million Dollars—Statues, Murals, Memorial Windows, Pipe Organ and Museum to Be a Few of the Qutstanding Features. HE colorful dedication cere- monies of the George Wash- ington Masonic National Memo- rial at Alexandria, Va., May 12, will be one of the outstanding events of the year-long George Wash- ington Bicentennial celebration. Presi- dent Hoover and many other high Fed- eral and State officials will be present. Several large structures have been dedi- cated to the memory of Washington this year. None of these, however, has the national scope, the deep significance or the close historic connection with the life of Washington as does the Alexan- dria memorial, which was built by the Masons of America in commemoration of Washington, the Mason. The temple will be a national headquarters for ths fraternity, with a memorial room, in which will be placed the priceless Wash- ington relics owned by the lodge at Alex- andria. This magnificent temple of granite, which cost more than $4,000,000, and which it has taken 10 years to build, is said to be one of the most beautiful towers in America, comparable to the Washington Monument and the Bok Singing Tower, in Florida. There is only one other large building in the world the exterior of which is made entirely of granite—the State, War and Navy Build- ing, in Washirgton. The exterior of the memorial is en- tirely completed. The chimes and air- plane beacon are installed. The amphi- theater and the observation platform are ready for use, but there are still other Interesting features not yet in place, such as the statue of Washington, the pipe organ, memorial windows, murals and the ornamental bronze doors. In a sig- nificant spot, not yet designated, will be placed a 2';-ton block of white Persian marble from the quarry from which the stone was taken to build Solomon’s Temple. SEVERAL years ago the Alexandria- Washington Lodge of Masons became Imbued with the idea that the Washing- ton relics, which are crowded in its dark old lodge room, should be housed in a fireproof building, where they could be ex- hibited to better advantage. Many plans were discussed and abandoned until Charles H. Callahan suggested that a memorial to Washington be erected by the Masons of America. His idea led to the organization of the George Wash- ington Masonic National Memorial Asso- ciation, which held its first meeting on February 22, 1910—22 years ago. Shooters Hill, in Alexandria, the 36-acre site selected for the memorial, is the highest point in the original District of Columbia. This historic old hill, once owned by Gen. Washington, was the identical spot chosen by Jefferson and Madison and favored by John Adams for the location of the National Capitol. But, for personal reasons, Washington opposed the choice of his friends. The architect, Harvey Wiley Corbett, modeled the tower of the memorial after the ancient ziggurat lighthouses which were built at the entrance of harbors along the Mediterranean Sea. This type of tower, which is built in steps, or off- sets, lends itself admirably to the archi- tecture of the building, which is classic Greek and Roman. Even the landscaping of the hill has been made to conform to the setback de- sign of the tower. The temple is ap- proached from the east by seven broad terraces, each with a spacious concourse of ascending steps, all of which seem to be a continuation of the s&ructure itself. The Masonic Memorial on Shooters Hill. This photograph, taken last Satur- day. shows the granite temple almost ready for dedication. By Myrta Ethel Cawood A wide driveway leads to the top of the hill, where there is ample parking space. The landscaping of Shooters Hill was done by Olmstead Brothers, who also de- signed Central Park and Riverside Drive in New York, the lake front development in Chicago and Audubon Park in New Orleans. The ground for the Washington Ma- sonic Memorial was broken June 5, 1922, at high noon, by Col. Louis A. Watres, president of the memorial association. The corner stone, upon which is chiseled a square and compass, the emblem of Masonry, was laid November 1, 1923, by President Coolidge, and on December 13, 1930—seven years later—the last block of stone was placed in the exterior of the building. THE temple is built of solid masonry and is expected to stand for ages. As the structure progressed exhaustive tests were made to insure its permanency. Approximately 85,000 tons of earth, the estimated weight of the memorial, were first removed from the hill to form a setting for the building, which when erected caused no substrata disturbances whatever. The massive structure, which covers 39,000 square feet, rests on a solid mat of 9,000 cubic yards of concrete re- inforced with 720 tons of steel bars. When the exterior of the building had been completed it was found that 74,491 tons of material had been used. It would take a freight train approximately 20 miles long to haul the materials used in the building. The Greek portico, the public entrance to the temple, is supported by eight gigantic columns of polished green New Hampshire granite. The colossal propor- tions of these columns were inspired by the Parthenon of Athens, and their classic style of architecture, the Doric, gives to the massive building a subtle grace and beauty combined with great solidity and enduring strength. The tall, fluted columns—each 33 feet high, 6 feet in diameter, and weighing 70 tons—are, indeed, remarkable, for granite can only be polished by skilled and tedious hand- labor, an operation which is so expensive that it is rarely attempted. The arch over the portico is the largest flat arch known in the world. It is made in five sections and the middle, or keystone rock, alone weighs 13 tons. High in the pediment over the main portico is carved a profile head of Wash- ington, surrounded by a laurel wreath. The sculptured head, which is a com- posite study of the Houdon bust and the William’s portrait, is 4', feet high, and the medallion itself is 7 feet across. This splendid bas-relief was modeled by Gail Sherman, who in private life is Mrs. Harvey Wiley Corbett, wife of the archi- tect of the building. The sculpturing was done by G. Fred Coles after the stone was placed in the pediment. The sculptured head of Washington predomi- nates the space above the portico, as, indeed, it should, and no other attempt is made at ornamentation except a chaste Greek border design around the outer edges of the pediment. From the majestic portico, which is the entrance to the second floor of the building, one enters the George Wash- ington Memorial Hall, which has a niche in the back for a heroic statue of Wash- ington. The hall, with its ornamental plaster ceiling and marble tile floors, is 100 feet long, 66 feet wide and 41 feet high. In the memorial hall there are eight tall Corinthian columns of polished green New Hampshire granite, each of which are 40 feet high, 415 feet in diam- eter, and weigh 65 tons. The capitals on these columns are the largest polished capitals of any kind of rock in the world. These imposing columns stand like giant sentinels on the north and south sides of the hall. On the stone walls behind the columns will be murals depicting scenes in the life of Washington. The Replica Lodge, also on the second floor, is an exact reproduction of the old room in Alexandria where Washington’s lodge met after his death. Next to the Replica Lodge is a larger room for the use of symbolic or blue lodges. On the north side of Memorial Hall is an audi- torium for various other Masonic pur- poses. DIRECTLY under Memorial Hall, in the center of the first floor, there is an ornamental assembly room flanked by eight Doric columns of New Hampshire granite. Each sturdy column—20 feet high, 5 feet in diameter, and weighing 20 tons—rests directly beneath its cor- responding column in the Memorial Hall above, thus supporting the great weight of the tower. The combined weight of the eight columns above and the eight below is 680 tons. In the front corridor of the first floor there are two elevators which connect all floors of the building. Because of the setbacks in the tower the elevators start their ascent approximately 50 feet apart, in beveled shafts, and they reach the summit side by side. In addition to the elevators there is a spiral stairway made of three contrasting marbles—green Car- diff, pink Tennessee and variegated St. Genevieve—which also lead to the tower. The rooms for administration, offices and service on the first floor have a total area of 14,000 square feet. Back of the assembly hall, on the first floor, is the large semi-circular amphi- theater, two stories high, which will seat 1,200 people. Instead of balconies, the seats are arranged in tiers. One can see and hear from any position in the room. Much study has been given to the architectural detail of the auditorium, which cost approximately $175,000. High on the wall above the stage is the Wash- ington coat-of-arms modeled in plaster by Louis Ludwig. The canopied ceiling of ornamental plaster is designed like a great open lace fan. A soft glow of hid- den colored lights penetrates the lacy open spaces in the design and further enhances its beauty, while directly be- neath the dome there is a row of red,