Masonic Temple

115-117 North Cayuga St. Historic name: Masonic Temple 

"Three-story, Indiana limestone Egyptian Revival-style building located at the comer of East Seneca Street; three-story central block clad in smooth Indiana limestone with a low-pitched, hipped roof; the North Cayuga Street  facade has a two-story, three-sided projecting central main entrance pavilion with paired doors at the street-level facade and three tall, rectangular windows with casement lights and square fixed transoms on each side in the second story. Main block retains heavy, smooth massing with slightly battered walls and a stepped stone parapet, truncated pylon piers, and recessed windows. The street-level facade has historic rectangular windows with paired casements and fixed square transoms; second story has small rectangular windows with fixed lights facing Cayuga Street; third story retains small rectangular windows in side elevations and taller rectangular windows in the Cayuga Street facade; two-story brick rear addition houses auditorium with paired casement lights set in rectangular windows; large, stuccoed, two-story addition at the rear of the building. Built 1926. 

Architects: Gibb and Waltz 

Historical note: The Masonic Temple is a rare example of Egyptian Revival-style architecture in Ithaca, designed by local architects Gibb and Waltz. Built specifically for Freemason activities, it served as a meetinghouse for the society and other clubs until the 1980s."

National Register of Historic Places Registration Form for Ithaca Downtown Historic District, December 18, 2004

"Early 20th-century design made use of many revival motifs, but the Egyptian Revival style, as seen in the Masonic Temple, is rare in Ithaca. Built in 1926 by local architects Arthur Gibb and Ornan Waltz, it features “battered” (wider at the base) framing around the door. Despite its massive appearance, the exterior is a thin limestone veneer attached to a metal frame – a new technology at the time." 

Historic Ithaca, DeWitt Park Historic District and Downtown Ithaca: An Architectural Walking Tour, 20. http://www.historicithaca.org/