Dayton Masonic Center Cornerstone Ceremony and Open House This Sunday 5/17

by Christopher Hodapp

Ohio's incredible Dayton Masonic Center is celebrating its 100 year anniversary. To commemorate the event, the Grand Lodge of Ohio will be performing a Cornerstone Ceremony this coming Sunday May 17, 2026 at 2PM. 

This will be the 100th anniversary of the dedication of its cornerstone in 1926, two years before the Crash hit the nation. It was a feat our own members today couldn't manage if our lives depended on it (and I can make an argument that they DO depend on it... but that's another discussion). 

The ground was broken on July 20th, 1925, the cornerstone was laid on May 19th, 1926, and the building was opened on April 1st, 1928.

This is a free event open to the public. There's no requirement to register before the event, but doing so at the link below will allow them to plan and make preparations accordingly.

https://www.daytonmasoniccenter.org/events/centennial-cornerstone-celebration-open-house-with-culture-works

If you've never visited this magnificent place and you're anywhere near central Ohio this weekend, make the opportunity to be there, because Masons are losing these massive Temples – built during the heady days between WWI and the Great Depression – every year. The Dayton center is really the last of its kind in the state of Ohio that's still in Masonic hands. 

The Center is located at 525 W. Riverview Avenue across from the Dayton Art Institute, in the Grafton Hill neighborhood. Some details are as follows:

May 17, 2026, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

2:00 - Reenactment of the Laying of the Cornerstone
2:30 - Welcome by MWB Johnson and Congressman Mike Turner
3:00 - Guests Welcomed into the building to explore the beautiful spaces
4:30 - Grand Finale - Schiewetz Auditorium 

Consider these sobering statistics: It was built by an association of 14 different Masonic lodges and related appendant organizations. Back in the day, Dayton Masons raised $1.5 million in just 7 seven days to finance the building's construction. It took nearly 3 years to complete, employing 450 workers and artisans (many of whom were Masons themselves) and would cost more than $40-million today. 

The Dayton Masonic Center has beautiful lodge rooms, York Rite rooms, and a lavish Scottish Rite 1,700-seat auditorium all under one roof, along with an impressive library, stunning lobbies and social rooms, a ballroom, and much more. Sitting on a commanding hillside overlooking the city and the Great Miami River, even the beautifully landscaped piece of property it sits on gives this temple a far more impressive presence than most urban Masonic buildings jammed into downtown areas have. 

It's truly worth going out of your way to see, and Sunday will be an ideal open house situation to wander the entire building and discover its many wonders for yourself. This Rooms will be open to explore with entertainment curated by Culture Works, a new event organizing partner for the Masonic Center. There will be food throughout the building, and beverages and libations will be served in various rooms. Various live performances will also take place throughout the building.

This event is just part of a $20 million campaign to continue upgrading and operating this stunning temple for the foreseeable future. Don't let it fall out of the hands of the fraternity! We lose these remaining buildings at our own peril, for we will never again even come close to competing with what came before us. As Masons flee places like this in favor of a tin shed in a soybean field, we vanish farther and farther from cultural the landscape of our communities. Yes, our forefathers should have set up foundations and long-range funding to be sure we could preserve them for future generations. But they didn't ask us to build better than they did – only to respect, repair and preserve what they already did for us. 

(H/T: Daniel Fry)

G. Washington Masonic Natl Memorial Wraps Up Major Exterior Restoration

by Christopher Hodapp

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria has been undergoing a major (and painstaking) exterior restoration project for the last eleven years. The monument to Brother George was built over a century ago and suffered from increasing water damage, limestone degradation, and even cracks from a 2011 earthquake. Work started on the iconic 9-story tower in 2014 and has at long last been completed.

An article in the local Zebra publication two weeks ago written and photographed by Brother Shawn Eyer detailed the work that was being done.

Cracks in the stone were sealed with epoxy. All of the original mortar was “raked out,” and each joint was repointed with a long-lasting mixture that allows moisture to escape rather than remain and go through freeze-thaw cycles. Weather-capping was installed. New LED lighting was installed to allow for the tower to be lit in many colors. Efflorescence—lime deposits often visible from the ground—was chipped away. In certain places, significant structural damage was repaired using steel rods. . .

For the last several years now, the work has neared completion with the scaffolding located behind the building, along the outer wall of the Memorial’s theater. Finally, the restoration of the temple was completed last month when workers lowered a newly-carved “Dutchman’s repair” into a niche where the 2011 earthquake had caused the coping to split. Now, that damage is completely invisible, and the integrity of the building is restored from top to bottom.

For the first time in a generation, it is possible to see the building in as stately a condition as that when it was first erected: a beautiful beacon of light with a positive and inspiring message.

 Thanks to Paul Keegan and his crew at Hibernia Masonry.

Philly Inquirer Tours Historic Masonic Temple

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

by Christopher Hodapp

A Philadelphia Inquirer reporter toured the incredible Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania's magnificent Masonic Temple for a story over the weekend. 

See "Philly’s own ‘Temple of Doom’ has fossils in the floors, stars in the ceiling, and an Egyptian room," by Stephanie Farr, with photos by Monica Herndon. 

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

Apart from the usual journalistic sniping these days (superficial explanations, an obligatory "dead white guys" comment, and suggesting room names be changed to suit modern sensibilities), it's not bad for giving a drive-by overview of one of the most impressive Masonic buildings in the world.

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

Monica Herndon/Philadelphia Inquirer

One interesting tidbit for owners of our more impressive downtown temples: last year almost 13,000 people toured the Philadelphia Temple, which is more than the number who toured the city's equally impressive city hall building. The public is VERY curious about our Masonic halls. Now, whether that kind of public exposure translates into greater interest in joining is a different question. But it certainly cannot hurt. 

If the world thinks you're dead, beat on the coffin lid and convince them to dig you up.

London's Freemasons Hall Forms Promotional Organization to Market Its Unique Venue

by Christopher Hodapp

If you've watched British television shows over the last 40 years or so that are set anywhere from the 1930s to modern day, I'll guarantee you've seen scenes shot in and around the United Grand Lodge of England's London headquarters, Freemasons Hall, at 60 Great Queen Street, just up the street from Covent Garden. This magnificent art deco masterpiece was completed in 1933 and has a seemingly endless number of interior rooms for the grand lodge, individual Masonic lodges, private meetings and other gathering places like their museum and the Lechworth's Masonic supply shop. Every room has its own distinct style, and it's been used in hundreds of TV episodes and feature films, to say nothing of weddings, fashion, industrial, and art shows, concerts, and all kinds of other specialty events.

The building's trustees have now gone into partnership with a local promotions company and formed a special organization specifically to market the building's unique features for more of these kinds of uses. From the Travel and Tour World website:

London’s historic Freemasons’ Hall has unveiled 60 Great Queen Street as the vibrant new identity for its commercial event offerings. This transformation coincides with Smart Group, the parent company of Moving Venue, expanding its role at the venue. Having secured exclusive catering rights in July 2024, Smart Group now assumes full responsibility for event sales and marketing at this prestigious Covent Garden landmark.

With the launch of 60 Great Queen Street, Smart Group is introducing an array of newly available spaces within the Grade II listed* building, offering an exclusive opportunity for corporate and private events in an iconic setting.

 

Designed to accommodate a diverse range of gatherings, from corporate conferences and product launches to high-end weddings and fashion showcases, 60 Great Queen Street blends architectural grandeur with cutting-edge event design. Collaborating with top-tier industry suppliers, the venue delivers bespoke, immersive experiences tailored to the needs of meetings, weddings, and private celebrations.

Greg Lawson, CEO of Smart Group, said: “Having delivered Christmas parties at Freemasons’ Hall since 2017 and holding the exclusive catering contract since July 2024, we are delighted to embark on the latest phase of our partnership with the United Grand Lodge of England. This is an exciting time of commercial growth for us, as we work with Freemasons’ Hall to enhance the market position for 60 Great Queen Street with our experience of leading sales and marketing activity across our various brands...

Admittedly, London's Freemasons Hall is one of the top 10 greatest Masonic buildings in the world, and they've got plenty to promote. But nearly every grand lodge in the U.S. has one or more incredible buildings with unique spaces that should be promoted to the general public for events. We have lodge rooms, theaters, dining halls, libraries, and other spaces not found anywhere else. Our forebears who built these incredible temples were proud of them and intended them to be part of our communities from the very start. For the most part, Masons aren't very good at building management or promoting our temples as venues. Partnerships with a local promotions company can be a winning strategy for us.

San Antonio Scottish Rite Forms Partnership With City's Philharmonic Orchestra To Preserve Cathedral

Article and photos by Christopher Hodapp

On Saturday, September 7th, the San Antonio (Texas) Philharmonic Orchestra and the San Antonio Valley of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite (SJ) announced the formation of a new 501(c)3 partnership to preserve and modernize the city's beautiful downtown Scottish Rite Cathedral. Under the terms of the agreement, the two organizations will share ownership of the 100-year-old Cathedral, providing the orchestra with a magnificent (and permanent) new home, and the Scottish Rite the opportunity to raise sorely needed money for improving and preserving their landmark Cathedral.

The two organizations took the opportunity to announce their fundraising goal of $50 million.

 

According to the Valley's website:

Several Masonic lodges, the Scottish Rite Masonic Bodies, all major York Rite Masonic Bodies, the Grotto, Eastern Star; Job's Daughters, Order of Rainbow for Girls, the Order of DeMolay, and other associated Masonic fraternal organizations meet in the Cathedral. The magnificent auditorium is acclaimed by experts as one of the most acoustically perfect rooms of its size in the world. Constructed as a Greek amphitheater it produces the effect of an open-air theater, the ceiling being equipped with twinkling stars and blazing planets, creating the atmosphere of a clear summer sky. The proscenium, or opening to the stage, is 60 feet wide and 32 feet high. The auditorium seats 2,062.

I had the opportunity to tour the Cathedral many years ago, and this announcement is an outstanding case of Masons thinking outside of our narrow little boxes when it comes to protecting these irreplaceable temples. All too often Masons get overwhelmed by maintenance costs of these massive buildings, supported by an ever-shrinking membership base. Time after time, they deteriorate while their trustees throw their hands up in despair. We don't seem to believe that the communities around us might see value in preserving them and making them into venues enjoyed by the public.

Guthrie Scottish Rite: Backdrop for new Ronald Reagan Movie

Dennis Quaid as Ronald Reagan (Photo: Rawhide Pictures)

by Christopher Hodapp

An article appeared on the Oklahoman news site yesterday announcing that a new biopic of former president Ronald Reagan will be released in August this year. Reagan is directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer) with a modest budget of $25 million and stars Dennis Quaid as the actor, governor and president. 

For Freemasons, the important news here is that much of the filming took place in and around the Guthrie Scottish Rite Cathedral. 

Guthrie Scottish Rite Cathedral

According to the article, filming took place four years ago, between September and November of 2020, but COVID shutdowns and other issues delayed the final release until this year. The film tracks Reagan's impoverished youth in Illinois, service in the military, his unlikely patch to Hollywood and career as a movie star (making more than 50 pictures between the late 1930s and into the 50s) before entering politics in the 1960s. The John Voight character is a fictional composite of soviet agents who began tracking Reagan when he served as the head of the Screen Actors' Guild and became a fierce opponent of communism. While serving two terms as the 40th U.S. president between 1981 and 1989, Reagan stared down the Soviet Union and its then-president Gorbachov, essentially bringing the post-WWII Cold War to an end.

A few production photos from the shoot:

©Rawhide Pictures

©Rawhide Pictures

©Rawhide Pictures

The script is written by Howard Klausner ('Space Cowboys') and Jonas McCord (2001's "The Body"), based on Paul Kengor's book, 'The Crusader: Reagan and the Fall of Communism.' Director Sean McNamara was brought onto the project after the film's original director, John Avildson (who directed 'Rocky'), died unexpectedly in 2017. 

©Rawhide Pictures

The production team used Guthrie's Scottish Rite Cathedral for its base of operations, and you'll see much of it on screen. Its magnificent interiors were used to recreate the Oval Office and the Situation Room of the White House; several scenes in Cold War-era Soviet Russia; the famed Cocoanut Grove nightclub (which was inside of the now-demolished Ambassador Hotel in Hollywood); and Germany's Brandenburg Gate between East and West Berlin, where Reagan famously demanded, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

Reagan's 'Brandenburg Gate' speech in Berlin is
recreated in front of the Guthrie Scottish Rite. (Photo: ©Rawhide Pictures)

Masonic Buildings As Film Locations

Masons with unique temple rooms and buildings — large and small, old and new — would do well to reach out to their state film commissions, submit detailed photos to them, and offer building tours to their officials on a regular basis. Film commissions have employees who make themselves familiar with potential shooting locations and unique visual attractions in their state so they can effectively answer the requirements of film productions and location scouts. That can translate into money and other benefits to owners of unique properties, including Masonic temples. 

Local economies are given a tremendous boost as well, when a major production comes to town. Oklahoma got picked for this particular film because the state's Film Rebate Program kicks back up to 37 percent of qualified expenditures on productions. According to a 2021 Newsweek article written when the film wrapped production, "Reagan spent 24 days filming in Oklahoma, plus three months of pre- and post-production work, employing 155 locals, not counting a few hundred extras in scenes such as a union strike in the 1940s and the night Reagan won the California governorship in 1966."

Oklahoma's Film Commission has a program whereby a town or community can be labeled as "Film Friendly," and Guthrie qualified for that status. The program educates local officials and business owners about how to roll out the red carpet when major productions come calling.

Fairfax, Oklahoma's Grayhorse Lodge 124 appeared in Martin Scorcese's
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).

Not far from Guthrie, Grayhorse Lodge 124 in Fairfax, Oklahoma got used for scenes in Martin Scorcese's 2023 film Killers of the Flower Moon. In return, their lodge room got painted and other upgrades were added when the film crew came to town.

The George Washington National Masonic Memorial 

subbed for the Smithsonian in National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

When the 2007 film National Treasure 2 was shot in and around Washington, DC, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial stood in for a lecture hall and display area in the Smithsonian Institute. The Scottish Rite SJ's House of the Temple headquarters, also in Washington, was the location for 2009's State of Play with Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, and Helen Mirren. The Grand Executive Director's office became a congressman's office, a political speech was shot on the front steps, while several other scenes were shot in seemingly mundane hallways and corridors. Location fees helped fund some major repairs to the building. (Thanks for the info, Brent.)

Whether you recognized it or not, the United Grand Lodge of England's magnificent art-deco Freemasons Hall on Great Queen Street in London has been used in movies and TV shows for decades. Freemasons Hall is very well known to UK film crews. The producers of the 1930s-era Poirot TV series with David Suchet as the Belgian detective seemed to be especially in love with the place, and it appeared in many episodes as wildly different locales. Just a few examples of its many on-screen appearences can be read about HERE and HERE.

While our most magnificent 'City Beautiful'-era buildings can stand in for government buildings, court houses, universities, theaters, museums and other monumental buildings of the past, that's not always what location scouts are hunting. Sometimes they're simply seeking out very simple locations that can be used for multiple settings, which can allow them to spend less moving time between sequences. Back when our company shot TV commercials, my own lodge's humble dining room stood in for a typical "church basement" meeting sequence, while our commercial-grade kitchen was the setting for recreating the kitchen of a fancy restaurant later the same day.

BTW, In Case You're Wondering...

President Ronald Reagan was NOT a Freemason. On February 11, 1988, the Grand Master of Washington, D.C. presented Reagan with a "Certificate of Honor". Both the Scottish Rite Northern and Southern jurisdictions presented him with a similar certificate, as did the Shriners, and they named him an "honorary member" (which confers no degrees and has no serious Masonic standing). But all of these were merely documents citing his commitment to charity, fortitude, temperance and prudence, and thanking him for his public service. 

Fourteen out of the last 46 U.S. Presidents have been verifiably Freemasons, and only 13 have been Master Masons. (The name missing from that list at the link is Lyndon Johnson, who was initiated in a Texas lodge as an Entered Apprentice, but never advanced further.)

President Gerald R. Ford, who succeeded Richard Nixon in the wake of his resignation over the Watergate scandal in 1974, is currently the last American president who ever held Masonic membership. He was initiated in Grand Rapids along with his three half-brothers: Thomas Gardner Ford, Richard Addison Ford, and James Francis "Jim" Ford on September 30, 1949, at Malta Lodge No. 465, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Two years later he completed the second degree on April 20, 1951, in Columbia Lodge No. 3 Washington, D.C., and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in the same lodge on May 18 of that year. He was also a Scottish Rite Mason in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, and a Shriner in Saladin Temple in Kentwood, Michigan. Ford was made a 33° Scottish Rite Mason and Honorary member of the Supreme Council AASR, NMJ in 1962.

As an adolescent, Bill Clinton belonged to a DeMolay chapter in Arkansas, but never pursued Masonic membership. No U.S. president since then has had any official association with the Masonic fraternity.

Grand Orient of Italy Wins Court Battle Against Italian Senate Over Mussolini's Confiscation of Their HQ

Photo: Wikipedia Commons

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grande Oriente d'Italia (Grand Orient of Italy) has prevailed in an Italian Supreme Court ruling against the government that restores ownership of their former headquarters. The historic Palazzo Giustiniani was illegally seized in 1925 by dictator Benito Mussolini's Fascist government ,and was never returned to the Masons after the end of World War II. Since that time, the magnificent 16th century palazzo with its beautiful interior frescos has housed the offices of the Senate of the Republic, and is the residence of the President of the Senate.

The landmark decision was handed down on January 26th, and recognizes the fact that the fascist state confiscated the Masons' historic property without any due process, recompense or restitution whatsoever. The verdict comes just one year short of the 100-year anniversary of the building's seizure.

From the close of World War I until the Allied victories against the Axis dictatorships that ended World War II, Freemasonry in Hitler's Germany, Mussolini's Italy, and Franco's Spain was suppressed and declared to be a so-called "secret society." Countless European Masons were persecuted, arrested, and even executed for no other crime than being a Freemason. The Palazzo Giustiniani was seized from the Grand Orient Masons by the Mussolini regime for use by the Italian Senate, and Freemasonry in Italy was banned outright by 1926. After war broke out across Europe, Masonic halls all over Axis-occupied territories were confiscated, along with regalia, furniture, artwork, and especially grand lodge membership files. Masonic buildings were frequently turned into anti-Masonic propaganda displays and museums, luridly staged with the creepiest of props (skeletons were a big hit with the public) to perpetuate the unfounded allegations that the fraternity practiced Satanic worship, blasphemies, plotted revolutions, and other creepy, nefarious intrigues.

NOTE: To clarify: the Grand Orient of Italy is the largest obedience in that country, and it is the body that the overwhelming majority of U.S. grand lodges recognize. The Grand Lodge of Italy is the second largest group, a mixed body that admits both men and women, and is not deemed regular by the overwhelming majority of the Masonic world. But in a rarity, the United Grand Lodge of England—from whom many U.S. grand lodges seek clarity and guidance—recognizes the much smaller and newer Regular Grand Lodge of Italy. The U.S. did not uniformly follow UGLE's action, and continues not to do so.

After the war ended, and Freemasonry returned, the Grand Orient was permitted to move its headquarters back into the palazzo, but it continued to principally be occupied by the Senate offices. By 1981, the Masons again moved out – voluntarily this time – into a smaller building.

From my albeit imperfect understanding of the whole situation, it certainly sounds like the Grand Orient Masons are now the Senate's new absentee landlords.

From a letter circulated this week by the Grande Oriente d'Italia's Grand Master Stefano Bisi:

"Fascist paramilitary squads violently occupied the building on 5 November 1925, as the Court itself recalled. And immediately afterwards the fascist state acquired the building, through a settlement agreement, against which appeals were already presented in various judicial offices at the time, asserting its right of pre-emption on an asset of artistic value, without however first declaring the nullity of the contract stipulated by the GOI in 1911 for the purchase of the building itself.

"This was a condition, the Court said, prejudicial for the state to be able to exercise its right of pre- emption and acquire the property. Consequently, the regime illegally took possession of the property in violation of the 1909 law on artistic assets.

On these legal bases, the United Sections of the Supreme Court of Cassation sent the case back to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court, remitting to it the assessment regarding the legitimacy of the acquisition procedure of Palazzo Giustiniani.

The Grand Orient expressed satisfaction with the court's decision and confirmed that the judicial initiative is aimed exclusively at restoring the truth of the facts to history in the full conviction that it represents the foundation of the essence of the democratic state to which the Grand Orient of Italy is proud to belong.

A victory for the Grand Master Stefano Bisi, his council and the staff of lawyers of the GOI. A very important step forward in the controversy which adds to other historic goals scored in these last years by the Italian Masonic institution.

Located close to Rome's Pantheon, the beginnings of this Roman palace were originally built as a religious residence in the mid-1500s on the Via della Dogana Vecchia. But in 1590, it was acquired by a Genoese prince named Giuseppe Giustiniani. Over time, Giustiniani's descendants bought up surrounding buildings, eventually connecting them together until it comprised the entire city block. 

Great big palazzos can look mighty empty unless they get filled up with statuary, paintings, murals and other tchotchkes, which is just what the Giustiniani's set about doing. The artwork collection was reputed to be comprised of more than 1,600 pieces, including paintings by some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance period, and even 1st century AD statuary excavated from the remains of Emperor Nero's infamous Baths. 

Many additions and modifications were done to the palace over the centuries. Most of the ancient statuary and the most valuable art pieces were sold off over the 1700 and 1800s, and by 1826, the last of the Giustiniani family died out. The building was then acquired by the Grazoli family, and for a while it was rented out as the diplomatic residence of the Tzarist Russian Ambassador to Italy.

The massive palazzo was finally leased to the Freemasons of the Grand Orient of Italy beginning in 1898 for 11,000 lire a year. Three years after that, the Grand Orient purchased the historic building outright for use as its headquarters, and converted several of the largest rooms into magnificent lodge meeting halls.

The ceiling of one gallery is decorated with images of King Solomon.

The same gallery today, stripped of its Masonic furnishings

Solomon looking over the plans for the Temple, in the background.

"Solomon's Judgement," the famous instance of two women claiming to be mothers of
the same newborn child. Solomon calls their bluff, and threatens to cut the child in half,
causing the liar to confess her fraudulent claim.

The opportunity to acquire the building outright was spearheaded in 1901 by the Grand Master (and Mayor of Rome at the time, by the way) Ernesto Nathan – the 7-story, 405-room palace was sold to the Grand Orient for 1,055,000 lire. Accounting for inflation since 1901 and the conversion rate between the Italian Lira and the U.S. Dollar, that original 1,055,000 lire purchase price calculates out to about US$11 billion today. 

That's with a B. Give or take. 

The Senate set aside space in the Palazzo for the Masons' return after WWII, but about 40 years later even that reduced area became too much room for the GOI to deal with. In 1981, the notorious P2 (Propaganda Due) scandal became an international crime headline-grabber. The complex plot involved a former Grand Orient Masonic lodge being operated without a charter by its expelled Worshipful Master, Licio Gelli, with a thousand secret members as a front for organized crime, government corruption, killings, terrorist attacks, bombings, and even the theft of a substantial sum of cash from the Vatican's own bank accounts. Even today, the P2 lodge is often described as having been a "shadow government," made up of evildoing Masons in high-ranking military and government positions. 

Even though the P2 lodge was operating illegally and the Grand Orient expelled and denounced all those involved, the European press rarely took care to explain the reality of the situation or make clear that thousands of rank and file Masons had nothing to do with Gelli's crimes. To this day, Freemasons all across Europe are frequently outed by the press and denounced as criminals primarily because the P2 scandal was so notorious. The reputation of the fraternity worldwide was sullied by the press coverage of the whole affair, even though the actual participants had nothing to do with Freemasonry.

In 1985 the Grand Orient moved its headquarters down the road into a much more modest (but still not-exactly scruffy) home –  the Villa Medici del Vascello in Rome (photo below), purchased at that time from Princess Elvina Pallavicini. 

Current home of the Grand Oriente d'Italia, in the former Villa Medici del Vascello.
Photo from the GOI website.

A departure agreement made in 1991 with the Senate was supposed to provide a large area at the Palazzo for an Italian Museum of Freemasonry – which never materialized. According to a 1985 article in La Repubblica, four floors of the Palazzo remained partially decorated with imagery of the Masonic fraternity.

NOTE: My own mastery of Italian is limited to "Ciao!" and "Pronto!", asking waiters for my dinner check to be handed over to the wealthier-looking guy at the next table, and shouting down the hall for an extra roll of carta igienica. Consequently, my deciphering details from Italian articles can't be trusted. But below is my probably-terrible English translation – aided by Google Translate:

"[T]he Sancta Sanctorum remains, that is, the main temple of the Grand Orient and five other smaller temples. It is here that at least once a week, at the behest of the grand master, Armando Corona, what the Freemasons call their "ritual work" takes place. Here is the "hall of [winding] steps", here are the Workshops, "sacred spaces above and outside the world", with the entrance located to the west, the blue-vaulted roof dotted with constellations with the signs of the zenith and of the nadir, and the black and white checkered floor to recall that of Solomon's Temple.

"The Grand Master's throne is surmounted by a canopy of blue fabric with gold fringes. On the eastern wall stand the initials of the phrase: "To the glory of the great architect of the universe". The statues of Hercules, Venus and Minerva next to the three flame lamps and the three love knots symbolize strength, beauty and wisdom. Wisdom, for the Grand Master Armando Corona, was to give victory to the Senate, which for years and years had been claiming the four floors of Palazzo Giustiniani occupied by the Grand Orient.

"However, I set one condition," says Corona. "Given that our name derives from the Giustiniani Palace, it is right and indispensable that in this palace the Grand Orient preserves at least one "ubi consistam" – some rooms – in order to symbolically justify its denomination". According to the compromise, three floors for a total of approximately three thousand square meters will be sold to the Senate and - in exchange for a symbolic rent with no deadlines - the first floor will instead be kept for the Grand Orient, where Corona intends to set up a permanent exhibition of the history of Freemasonry and in which the main temple will be maintained for its esoteric rites..."

It's true that governments generally have more money than either Elon Musk or God (in that order), but something tells me that the Italian Senate has no intention of offering to buy their longtime digs back from the Masons for US$11 billion.

From Il Tempo: "Giustiniani Palace. A glimmer of light for the Freemasonry museum/Il Tempo" reported by Riccardo Mazzoni:

After a century of battles, the Freemasons managed to reopen the case of Palazzo Giustiniani, the historic seat of the Grand Orient of Italy expropriated by the fascist regime. The Supreme Court of Cassation has in fact annulled the ruling of the Council of State which had established the jurisdiction of the ordinary judge on the issue, and the TAR will therefore have to judge. 

The Grand Orient of Italy had denounced the lack of the preliminary condition of the legitimate exercise of the power of the Italian State, i.e. the failure to declare the nullity of the deed of sale drawn up way back in 1911 in favor of Urbs (real estate company of the Grand Orient of Italy), with the consequence that, since the ownership deed in the company remained in force, the pre-emption decree issued by the government could not constitute a transfer deed in favor of the latter, an argument fully accepted by the Supreme Court.

The Grand Orient of Italy reiterated that the judicial initiative is aimed exclusively at restoring the truth of the facts to history, "in the full conviction that historical truth represents the foundation of the essence of the democratic state".

"The united sections of the Court of Cassation, Grand Master Stefano agreed with us" Bisi told Tempo. "We denounced and argued that the fascist regime could not legitimately exercise the right of pre-emption on the Palazzo Giustiniani because the purchase deed had not been declared null and void in our favor. Now I hope that the President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa will summon us in order to find an agreement to hand over at least those 140 square meters to make the museum of Italian Freemasonry, as foreseen by the agreement signed in 1991 by President Giovanni Spadolini and the Grand Orient of Italy."

The judicial process was restarted by the will of the current council at the end of July 2020: thanks to painstaking work done in the archives of the Grand Orient of Italy, fundamental documents were recovered thanks to which an appeal was presented to the TAR of Lazio on 29 July 2020 against the Senate "for the investigation and declaration of the abusive occupation of Palazzo Giustiniani, the historic seat of Freemasonry which was acquired by force of public property, with a sham transaction which forced the Grand Orient to recognize the legitimacy of the expropriation". But for this renunciation the fascist state promised compensation, and this was the basis that opened the way to the appeal. The one faced by the Freemasons of Palazzo Giustiniani was an authentic judicial ordeal, starting from the sentence of '53 of the Court of Appeal of Rome which declared the action for annulment due to the defect of consent causing violence to be extinguished "by statute of limitations", because the action "should have been carried out within five years of the events", i.e. in the period in which fascism exercised its maximum violence. A paradoxical motivation, therefore.

The Lazio Regional Administrative Court's ruling in December 2021, confirmed by the Council of State, then constituted yet another mockery, sending the dispute back to the jurisdiction of the ordinary judge. Now the Court of Cassation has brought justice, and the hope is that the final word will be put to an end to an affair which certainly does no credit to the republican state, which for decades has in fact legitimized an abuse of power perpetrated by the fascist regime with violence. Alongside judicial truth, therefore, there is also a political and institutional question of great importance: the repudiation of a false right acquired through a crime against humanity, which was in effect the persecution of the Freemasons culminating in the merciless hunt on the night of San Bartolomeo. "It cannot be tolerated," Bisi stated on several occasions, "that an undue claim by a State like Italy, which is the homeland of Democracy, Justice and Freedom, could be based on this crime." 

Despite an Arrest, Lodge Vandalism Continues

by Christopher Hodapp

MW Michael E. Jackson, Grand Master of Illinois, has issued a new letter concerning several cases of vandalism at lodges in his state two weeks ago. (Click image to enlarge.) Despite an arrest in at least one incident, the activity apparently continues. 

February 24, 2022

 Brethren,

The alleged suspect has been arrested for the recent vandalism occurring at the Grand Lodge and other locations. Yet, another vandalism occurred over the weekend after he was arrested. It could not be the same party and we do not know if it is related in some way, a copycat incident or just a coincidental vandalism. In any case, it is concerning.

Please continue to be vigilant in checking activity at your Lodges and report them to the local authorities and the Grand Lodge.

 Fraternally.

Michael E. Jackson

Fire at Grand Lodge of Ireland in Dublin

by Christopher Hodapp

NOTE: This story has been updated to include a statement from the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

The Irish Times and other sources are reporting that a fire broke out at the historic Dublin headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Ireland this evening (New Years Eve) at about 5:30 PM local time on New Years Eve. The building was supposed to be empty at that time, and fire officials suspect arson. 

Witnesses said that a man in his 30s was seen climbing through a broken window into the building and setting fire to a Christmas tree that was displayed in the building's library. The fire brigade arrived at 5:40 and quickly extinguished the blaze.

A bizarre anti-vaccination message was also painted on the sidewalk outside.

From the Irish Times:

The graffiti is understood to be reference to mRNA, the technology used in some Covid-19 vaccines.

The Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Ireland grand secretary Philip Daleydescribed the attack as “very serious” and “completely out of the blue”.

However, he said there had been previous demonstrations outside the hall and other Masoni halls in Ireland by anti-vaccination campaigners.

“The view is that we created the virus and we are part of the new world order and we have to be stopped. It’s ridiculous stuff,” he said.

An unidentified man was hospitalized with spinal injuries after falling at the scene. No one is saying yet whether this person is under suspicion for the blaze, or merely an innocent bystander.

The magnificent Freemasons Hall on Molesworth Street in Dublin has been the home of the Grand Lodge since 1860. While the fire was mostly contained to one room, the library is the perhaps the worst of all possible places to be damaged. 

UPDATE: January 4, 2022, 3:40PM

The following statement was issued this morning by the Grand Secretary for the Grand lodge of Ireland:

Dear Brethren,

Thank you for the many emails, texts, and calls offering support and assistance following the arson attack at Freemasons’ Hall. It is impossible, at this time, to reply individually due to the large volume, however we really appreciate your support.

The insurance assessors have been working over the weekend to assess the damage, but it will take some time to complete this. Our first objective is to get Freemasons’ Hall open and operational. It is hoped that electricity and gas will be restored within the next 24 hours and the clean-up has commenced.

Although the damage is extensive, it is repairable, and work will commence over the coming weeks. The books and the paintings in the café / library have suffered smoke damage and a plan is in place to protect them prior to restoration.

I would ask for your patience in dealing with administrative matters at this time. It may take a little longer to get a reply as our computers and telephone services have not yet been restored.

Sincerely & fraternally,

Philip A.J. Daley

Grand Secretary

 Meanwhile, two photos of some of the interior damage to the library and cafe have been circulated on Facebook without attribution. If anyone knows who took these images, let me know and I'll add their credit.