North of Akron, Ohio, home of the abandoned Rubber Bowl Stadium and Rolling Acres Dead Mall, the city of Cleveland holds a treasure trove of forgotten structures with stories to tell. Among them is Newburgh Masonic Temple, the once grand meeting place of Ashlar Lodge.
Designed by Cleveland architect William J. Carter, construction of Newburgh Masonic Temple began in 1916. The structure was completed in 1917 at a cost of approximately $65,000 ($1.2 million in 2017 dollars) and the first meeting of the newly formed Ashlar Lodge took place there on May 31.
The site served as the home of Ashlar Lodge for a half-century. In 1969 the Masons decided to sell Newburgh Masonic Temple due to increasing maintenance costs and a lack of secure parking in the area.
It is unclear who occupied the building after the departure of the Freemasons, but it appears to have seen some use. A calendar from 1984 still hung on an office wall.
The structure now has extensive water damage on every floor. Layers of paint and plaster have fallen away revealing the underlying brick, which appears structurally sound (at least to my untrained eyes).
The temple has many interesting design features not often seen in modern buildings, including crown moulding, half doors, a dumbwaiter,
arched doorways,
two oddly-placed staircases that pass alongside one another,
and wooden bench seating lining the walls of the massive meeting halls.
Much of the sturdy wooden furniture and cabinetry remain intact and have held up well over time.
A china hutch in the basement still contains stacks of plates and dishes, which surprisingly haven't been smashed by vandals.
Two large rusting safes remain in an office. Their doors have been removed and the documents they once protected are scattered throughout the room.
A dusty roll of toilet paper still hangs in the bathroom.
One of the upper floors contains a flock of rubber duckies of unknown origin.
The future of Newburgh Masonic Temple remains uncertain. There do not seem to be any plans for future use or demolition.
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Next stop on the Epic Rust Belt Road Trip: The Ruins of an abandoned Electronics Factory.
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