Historic Masonic Temple

Perhaps the grandest of the architects' buildings in Clifton Forge, this mixed-use building housed a performance hall in the first two stories, offices and assembly rooms of Low Moor Lodge No. 166 on the third, and a furniture warehouse in the basement. The imposing Beaux-Arts Classical facade falls into the recognizable repertoire of Frye and Chesterman, with the firm's ubiquitous buff-colored brick, raised quoins, and extensive classical detailing. The first story is aggrandized by broken-arched pediments of cast stone at the two principal doorways and by a pressed-metal Doric frieze with triglyphs. Monumental Ionic pilasters unite the facade's second and third stories, and an ornate pressed-metal modillion-and-dentil entablature below a parapet crowns the facade. An early leaded-glass marquee shelters the theater entrance. The lobby, with a simple barrel vaulted ceiling, communicates directly with the auditorium, which retains its original proscenium and box seats.