The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple (formerly the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral

Scottish Rite Cathedral

Scottish Rite Cathedral and Scottish Rite Temple are names commonly applied to buildings used by Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, a body associated with Freemasonry...

) is a theatre and cultural center in Scranton, Pennsylvania

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...

. The Cultural Center's mission statement is "to rejuvenate a national architectural structure as a regional center for arts, education and community activities appealing to all ages." The Cultural Center hosts off Broadway performances, music and stand-up comedy performances and special events including weddings and proms. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Architect Raymond Hood

Raymond Hood

Raymond Mathewson Hood was an early-mid twentieth century architect who worked in the Art Deco style. He was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, educated at Brown University, MIT, and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. At the latter institution he met John Mead Howells, with whom Hood later partnered...

 designed the Masonic Temple, which houses the cultural center. The Masonic Temple is designed in a combination of Gothic Revival architecture

Gothic Revival architecture

The Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...

 and Romanesque Revival

Romanesque Revival architecture

Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...

—Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque

Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...

. The building was completed in 1930. The temple has a dual nature; it houses the Scottish Rite Cathedral and a masonic lodge. In fact, the design of the building is a tribute to masonry.

The Masonic Temple houses The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Theatre with 1,866 seats, The Governor Robert P. Casey Library, a "Ladies Parlor" and a Grand Ballroom which can hold 2,700 for standup performances, Shopland Hall, a 600 seat theatre located on the 4th floor, Craftsmen Hall on the 3rd Floor as well as Snyder and Gazda Hall, serving as Lodge room for the Masonic Fraternity. Most of the facility is open for public usage and rental through the year. Visitors to Scranton can visit the Temple and take a tour that highlights the architecture of the building as well as its present day uses.

Performances

The Cultural Center features regular performances by Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. It has also hosted performances by contemporary musical artists, including Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz

Jason Thomas Mraz , also known as Mr. AZ and Mr. Raz, is an American singer-songwriter. Mraz released his debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which contained the hit single "The Remedy ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, "Mr. A-Z", in 2005, that Mraz achieved...

, Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews

David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...

, N Sync, Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys

The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...

 and Maroon Five. Broadway Theatre of Northeast PA puts on Broadway musicals, including Rent

Rent (musical)

Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...

, Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! is a stage musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA, composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, former members of the band. Although the title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia", the plot is fictional, not...

and Les Miserables

Les Misérables (musical)

Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....

.

Description

Construction of the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral was begun in 1927. The building took three short years to finish. The Temple was inaugurated on January 2, 1930 when the first meeting was held in the building. The rectangular plan building is clad in coursed ashlars of Indiana limestone supported by the structural steel framework. At approximately 180000 square feet (16,722.5 m²), the building houses two theatres, meeting rooms, a grand ballroom, as well as numerous other rooms and areas. There are ten levels of the building, only five of which can be accessed by elevator. The remaining five levels include two storage floors about the fourth floor, a small light room at the very top of the building that measures approximately fifteen feet in diameter and can only be reached by a ladder connecting to the room, and the sub-basement which goes down two levels or sixty feet below the basement floor.

Masonic Symbols

Masonry symbols can be found throughout the Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, although it may not be apparent to those unfamiliar with Masonry. Shopland Hall, the small theater on the fourth floor, contains many Masonic symbols. An image of the Crusade is depicted above the stage, as well as shields motifs. These are important symbols to the Masonic Fraternity. Also two-headed eagles are depicted on the ceiling of the theater. Supposedly Frederick of Prussia introduced the symbol of the two headed eagle when the Scottish Rite was in its formative stages. The Robert P. Casey Library features the quintessential symbol of the Freemasons, a shovel, a pick, and a crowbar, in a glass case. Not only are these three items symbols of Masonry, but they were also the ground breaking tools used during the construction of the Masonic Temple. Also in the Casey Library is a grandfather clock that features many Masonic Symbols carved into the wood, including the shovel, pick, and crowbar motif, as well as the symbol of the square and the compass with the letter “G” in the center.

The future

The Cultural Center began multi-million dollar restoration project in the mid 1990s. Electrical services were updated and air conditioning was installed. The ballroom's walls and ceilings were also restored.