Location

Two stately Sphinxes representing wisdom and power, contemplation and action, guard this grand temple overlooking 16th Street. Designed by John Russell Pope and built in a fine freemasonry style, the temple, a reincarnation of the Mausoleum of Halikarnassos, tells a fascinating chapter in architectural history. The imposing front steps, arranged in groups of three, five, seven, and nine, lead to a huge entrance door surrounded by 33 stones.
 

Visitors are invited to use the temple's library. This is one of the city's most intriguing yet little-known collections containing materials concerning Freemasonry, its history, culture, and legacy. Among the library's holdings is a large collection of material relating to the poet and mason, Robert Burns, as well as books, numerous Masonic journals, objects, manuscripts, files, etc. which date back to the early 16th century.