Weil’s first design for the temple of the local chapter of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, known as the Shriners, included a giant corner tower and adjacent dome. In a less elaborate form, his tan brick and terra-cotta design with a five-part facade composition was constructed in 1924, but the huge auditorium could not be completed with available funds. In 1927, the Saenger brothers of Shreveport, Louisiana, who were developing a chain of theaters, modified and completed the auditorium. An ornamented cornice with stalactite vaults runs along the two principal facades, and a large horseshoe arch with an ornamental screen announces the main entrance while smaller ones decorate the secondary entrance on 24th Avenue and the window-heads of the corner units. The Saengers added the front canopy and marquee. The building’s vividly polychromatic lobby features Egyptian ornament and objects, including an upright sarcophagus, sphinxes, and other pharaonic imagery.