The Assyrian Room was also heavy on the ancient world-inspiration. My camera turned them all into blurs of light, but in the center of each stained glass window was a Masonic symbol. The rugs are from Ireland, but perhaps the camel hair in the wool fits the theme. The columns andВ friezesВ all have detailed painted patterns and the benches and chairs are models of ones originally carved from ivory and onyx. Upstairs we visited the Pompeiian Room, a tribute to that city drowned in ash. AllВ 5,376 pipes of the Kimball organ are in an arch above the stage. Like the atrium, the theatre has a Roman style to it, and there are 1,760 seats, so itвЂ™s quite impressive. However, I did get to hear the pipe organ, which was programmed to playВ BachвЂ™s Toccata and Fugue, which is really the only song an organ needs to play. I will also probably never get to see it, because even if women get to attend, they have to sit in an above area where they canвЂ™t see the action. IвЂ™m not really sure what that entails, but there were several Biblical-looking sets around the stage. We then entered the huge theatre, where the Masons perform the different degrees.

The staircases at the ends of the atrium reminded me of Grand Central or other historic train stations, especially with the old clock ticking above. At 190 feet long and 52 feet wide, it certainly gives an air of awe, and the sleek marble makes it feel like a cousin to the temples of Rome. Every room in the temple was built to meticulously mimic a historic period of architecture or culture, and the atrium is a tribute to the Roman Empire. Our tour started in the atrium, a stunning central hall with highВ ceilingsВ from which there is the soft glow from stained glass and chandeliers. The original legislative hall still remains. The capitol building that remained in Guthrie was acquired by the Masons and incorporated into their new structure. However, in a move involving a rather notorious incident where the state seal may or may not have been stolen, the capital was changed to Oklahoma City. Guthrie was originally where the new Oklahoma, getting statehood in 1907, set up its government, at a time when the town was the second largest city in the state. The cornerstone for the first Masonic building in Guthrie was laid in 1899, but the Masons moved into the current location after the capital of the state itself moved. The temple was built in 1919, but its history goes back to a little before that. As you can see from the image above, itвЂ™s quite imposing, even more so since it is surrounded by single level homes, the termination of a road jutting off from downtown. Over the winter holiday, I drove up to the town north of Oklahoma City to visit the Scottish Rite Temple, an ornate, over-the-top mammoth of a building highly decorated with lush furnishings and arcane Masonic symbols. One of the most surprisingly opulent places is in Guthrie, Oklahoma.

Kimball organ light bulbs