| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History.
Just as women were enabled to voice political ideas and promote solidarity, fraternal organizations allowed men to express political power, form business alliances, and foster middle-class cohesion. Among the most prestigious was the Free Masons, which in 1920 built the Masonic Temple (189 N. Central Ave.) in the Beaux-Arts Classical style, symbolizing civic order. Architect Edward Tough used stone moldings to divide the brick building into three zones, much like a classical column. The raised foundation forms the base, classical cantons and colossal Ionic columns divide the two-story shaft into bays, and a festooned name plate crowns the building. Most distinctive is the arched, stained-glass window extending from the top of the base almost to the full height of the building. |
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| Bibliographic References: | 1. Margaret Scott, Richland Center: A History (Richland Center: Richland County Publishers, 1972), pp. 24, 33, 144, 185-86; Local History Room, Brewer Library (Richland Center, Mss. 498); C.W. Butterfield, History of Crawford and Richland Counties (Springfield: Union Publishing Company, 1884), p. 1179; Masonic Temple, 100 Years of Masonry in Richland Center: Program of the 100th Anniversary of the Granting of the Charter (Madison: Mss. Archives, SHSW, Madison).
2. Barbara Wyatt, Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin (Madison: Historic Preservation Division, SHSW, 1986), vol. III, part 5, pp. 2-4; Joyce McKay, Architecture as Archaeological Artifact (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1985).
A. Richland (WI) Republican Observer, 3 March 1920, 25 March 1920.
B. Ibid., 20 July 1922.
C. Sanborn Insurance Maps, City of Richland Center (New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1927).
D. Margaret Scott, Richland Center, Wisconsin, A History (Richland Center: Richland County Publishing, 1972), pp. 184-185.
Richland Center observer 9/6/2001.
E. Buildings of Wisconsin manuscript. |
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