The windowless square brick building is rather unremarkable from the outside.
It sits on Turner Street, silently keeping watch over Gracelawn Cemetery.
“People drive by this building all the time and wonder what’s in here,” said Ken Richardson, secretary for the Rabonni Lodge and all of the Scottish Rite bodies. “It’s not a secret. You can call and set up a tour at any time.”
The members of the Masonic Temple are even tentatively setting up an annual public open house for October 15.
The temple was built in 1970 and dedicated in 1971, with a large portion of money from long time member J.H. Merrill.
There are few hypotheses about why the brick structure was built without windows.
“I think they were afraid of vandalism,” speculated Richardson. “There was nothing out here in 1970.”
Inside the temple, around 1,000 members meet on different nights in different halls.
The Scottish Rite body and the York Rite body have the two largest halls, but allow the other 16 or so bodies to utilize them.
Within the halls, each ornate chair represents one of the 13 officers within the larger body. Then regular members sit on church pew like benches.
In order to become a Freemason, a man over 21 must seek out a current member for a petition- the Masons do not actively recruit.
After prospective candidate has been recommended by two Master Masons, investigated by a committee, and passed a unanimous ballot, the potential brother will then start his degree work.
Degree work are moral lessons equal to stages or levels of membership, performed over a Bible or Quran, because even though Masons are not a religious sect, one must believe in a Supreme Being in order to belong.
“That is what’s great about it. You can be any profession, any race, and any religion to join,” said Richardson.
After attaining the 32nd and highest degree, a Mason could then move on to become a Shriner.
Freemasonry in what is now Maine, dates back to 1769 when the Triangle Lodge No. 1 was formed in what is now Portland.
Every year since statehood, Masons of the state convene at the Grand Lodge of Maine in Portland for an annual meeting. The minutes from these meetings are bound into books and each temple has a set, including Auburn, dating back to 1820.
In order to fully describe what Freemasonry is, Richardson points to an informational pamphlet given to men seeking inquires about the fraternity.
On the final page it describes Freemasonry as “a kindness in the home, honesty in business, and courtesy in society, concern and assistance for the unfortunate, help for the weak, forgiveness for the penitent, love for one another, and above all, reverence and love for God. Freemasonry is many things, but above all, Freemasonry is a way of life.”
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- Boxes holding uniforms for members of the York Rite line a storage area on the second floor of the Masonic Temple in Auburn.
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- Photos of past master Masons and antique aprons, which are worn by members who hold office within their body of the Masons, line a lobby area in the basement of the Masonic Temple in Auburn. Also in the basement is a cafeteria area where suppers are sometimes held for members.
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- The Scottish Rite Hall in the Auburn Masonic Temple features a stage where members perform degree work in the form of plays. Degree work is how a Mason achieves different levels within their Masonic body.
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- The Master Mason apron is worn by the highest level officer within the York Rite Body of the Masons. There are also aprons for senior ward, junior ward, secretary and chaplin. Also, there are lights within the York Rite Hall that signify the level of officer and their seating position.
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- Officers of the Masonic Body sit in certain places, signified by a colored light. The Worshipful Master sits on the east wall with a white light, the Junior Warden on the south wall with a blue light and the Senior Warden on the west wall with a red light.
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- A bell used in Scottish Rite Hall ceremonies was donated to the Masonic temple in 1940.
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- In order to be a Mason, a man seeking membership must believe in a higher being and all degree work is done over a Bible, like this one in the Pletate Room that was donated to the Masonic temple in 1964. The Pletate Room is a smaller hall where beginner degree work for the York Rite is performed.
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- Prior to Maine becoming a state in 1820, there were about 30 Masonic lodges in the area that eventually became Maine, like the Tranquil Lodge, which was founded in 1818 in what is now north Auburn, but was then Minot, Mass.
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