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Meet the Builders of California’s Newest Masonic Lodges

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A spate of new Masonic lodges have gone up across the state in recent years. What they are building is reshaping the landscape of California Masonry.

For Two Grand Masters, an Opportunity to Build Bridges Between Masons

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Prince Hall Grand Master David San Juan and G. Sean Metroka of the Grand Lodge of California on deepening an important Masonic partnership.

Prince Hall: America’s Masonic Father Figure

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Largely overlooked by historians, Prince Hall remains a towering figure of both Masonic history—and American history writ large.

At La France No. 885, a Lodge of Bon Vivants

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At La France No. 885, a longstanding legacy of French Freemasonry in California is being carried into the future.

The Heroes of Masonry: They Wear Aprons, Not Capes

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Celebrating the best and brightest of Freemasonry in California.

The Exemplars: Meet the 2024 California Masons of the Year

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Dennis Caoile and Henry Dosdorian, the 2024 Masons of the Year, demonstrate that the common denominator of Freemasonry is service to others.

Stephen Doan: The Mastermind

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In a capstone to a remarkable life and career in Freemasonry, R. Stephen Doan is the 2024 Recipient of the Grand Master’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Masons of California at 175: State of Evolution

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For 175 Years, the Grand Lodge of California has left its mark on the state.

A Timeline of 175 Years of California Masonic History

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Since its founding in 1850, California Masonry has had a profound influence on the state we call home.

The Performance: The Masonic Ritual Takes Center Stage

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The Masonic ritual is an elaborate production seen by only a select few. And yet Masons are committed to putting on the best show possible.

Photo Essay: The Stagecraft of a Masonic Play

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Go behind the scenes at a performance of The Spirit of Hiram, a Masonic play put on by the Pasadena Scottish Rite.

The Styles and Fashions of Masonry

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Meet the California Masons tailoring their own outstanding looks and shaking up what it means to be dressed for lodge.

A Closer Look at the Master’s Top Hat

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A closer look at the Master’s top hat: A sign of status, a nod to the past, or just a clever way to block the sun?

The Rise of the Masonic Polo

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An open collar with no tie at lodge would have invited side glances in years past, but today, polos prevail.

Fun with Numbers

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Lodges are assigned their number in order of their charter date. That doesn’t stop people from reading into them.

The Massive, Invisible Impact of Everyday Masonic Charity

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A celebration of the pancake breakfasts, the blood drives, the Teacher of the Year dinners—and the million other ways Masons give back.

How Masonic Relief Boards Provided Support for 100 Years

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For more than a century, California Masons supported one another—and brothers from around the world—through a vast network of boards of relief.

Whether in Lodge or at a Soup Kitchen, a Chance for Masons to Give Back

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Masons want to give back. Now the Grand Lodge of California, through its Keystone Initiative, is working to help them do just that.

How California Masons Brought Literacy into 1,000 Classrooms

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California Masons and Raising a Reader have brought their childhood literacy program to 1,000 classrooms around the state. That’s just the first chapter of their story.

The Masonic Map of San Francisco

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Mapping San Francisco’s historic—and current—Masonic meeting places.

The Mission Masonic Temple, a Splendid Survivor

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Hiding in plain sight on one of the city’s busiest blocks, the Mission Masonic Temple is a living link to the area’s wild and wooly past.

At Fidelity No. 120, a Fraternal Home for San Francisco’s Jewish Masons

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For more than a century, Fidelity No. 120 was home to a robust Jewish membership.

Then and Now: Masonic Landmarks of San Francisco

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Four San Francisco Masonic landmarks of yesteryear get a new lease on life.

Vive La Loge: San Francisco’s French Lodge Keeps a Fraternal Tradition Alive

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At the French-speaking La Parfaite Union No. 17 Masonic lodge, in San Francisco, a Francophone legacy lives on.

At the Prince Hall Apartments, a Complicated Legacy

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The Prince Hall Apartments, built by the fraternal order during San Francisco’s urban renewal, are a testament to the city’s black history.

Timothy Pflueger, the Invisible Hand Behind San Francisco’s Skyline

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With his Jazz Age flair, architect Timothy Pflueger brought a signature style to San Francisco’s skyline.

The Masonic Streets of San Francisco

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Throughout San Francisco, street names share subtle reminders of a fraternal past.

How Arthur and Lucia Mathews’ Artworks Vanished from the Masonic Temple

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The influential artists Arthur and Lucia Mathews once designed the interior of the Grand Lodge Temple. So where’s all their artwork gone?

For Building Social Capital, There’s No Place Like Lodge

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Groups like the Masons offer a way to strengthen community, combat loneliness, fight polarization, and maybe even save democracy.

In ‘Join or Die,’ a Powerful Case for Group Think

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The new documentary Join or Die revisits a seminal text of contemporary social theory—and makes a powerful case for connection.

At a Masonic Funeral, Belonging to the Beyond

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The Masonic funeral rite unites Masons and their loved ones in a shared community of symbolism and fraternity.

What Masonic Menus Tell Us About the Founders of the Feast

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What do 100-year-old Masonic banquet menus tell us about the cultural—and epicurean—history of the fraternity?

A Healing Ceremony for Paradise Masons

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In Paradise, Table Mountain No. 124 is helping a community move forward.

At Oakland No. 61, a Commitment to Outreach

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At Oakland No. 61, a phone-banking effort helped establish the lodge as one of Masonic Outreach Services’ best local partners.

When It Comes to the Masonic Youth Orders, They’re Super Dads

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The 2024 Youth Support Award recipients show that when it comes to the Masonic youth orders, you get more than you give.

California’s Masonic Lodge Neighbors Are Better Together

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Across the state, California Masons are reaching out across lodge lines.