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Published in
6 min readJan 10, 2025

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Masonic Insights

Freemasonry in a City of Angels

Freemasonry in Los Angeles

Hollywood. Picture Taken by Cameron Adamson, 2021
Hollywood. Picture Taken by Cameron Adamson, 2021

To help Los Angeles residents affected by the unprecedented wildfires, click on: https://www.pledge.to/help-los-angeles-area-wildfire-victims

To be a Mason is to be a traveller.

We, at Square & Compass Promotions, consider ourselves “professional travellers.”

These travels have taken us to many amazing places throughout North America and, if you count virtual travel, throughout the world.

Over the coming weeks, we will be using this platform to discuss highlights of/from these travels.

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Travel and visitation is an incredibly important part of the Masonic experience. It is also a very important part of life.

As Anthony Bourdain stated:

  • “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food [or sit in their lodge], it’s a plus for everybody.

Normally, when we write travel-focused stories, we focus on travel to Masonic jurisdictions but we have written about cities (Ottawa) with special connections to the author and/or Freemasonry.

In this story, we write about one such city: Los Angeles, California (though we will also discuss California).

Los Angeles is a beautiful City.

The connection(s) between Square & Compass Promotions and Los Angeles date to 2020, when we interviewed W. Bro. Alberto Casanova and Bro. David Karp of Los Angeles’ Clarence F. Smith Daylight Lodge. It was a pleasure to learn about their Masonic achievements, Masonry in California, and their Daylight Lodge.

We are still receiving copies of the Clarence F. Smith’s Summons/Trestle Board.

[Author’s Note: For any Mason travelling to a new Masonic lodge or Masonic jurisdiction, try to exchange e-mail addresses with the lodge secretary and ask to be added to the lodge’s summons list!]

We made this connection to discuss with Bro. Karp his being the daylight lodge’s 2020 Hiram Award recipient (a “Mason of the Year” type designation).

The next year, we interviewed the new Hiram Award recipient: Bro. Mann also of the Clarence F. Smith Daylight lodge.

In November 2024, we were honoured to visit Los Angeles (for the first time) during which we attended Bro. Mann’s award ceremony.

We had an amazing time!

The connections between Freemasonry and Los Angeles are numerous.

Many of these connections relate to the historical architecture featured so prominently in and around Los Angeles; many of THESE we were lucky enough to visit in-person!

  • The Hollywood Masonic Temple: across from the famous Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and home of Jimmy Kimmel Live, this former Masonic Temple which still features on its facade the engraving: “Freemasonry Builds It’s Temples Among The Nations And In The Hearts of Men.”
  • Village Studios: a state-of-the-art, full-service recording complex housed in a vintage Masonic Temple in West LA. Famous for landmark sessions by music’s legends, it is housed in a 1920’s ERA MASONIC TEMPLE! Amongst the amazing albums recorded there: Fleetwood Mac’s “Tusk.”
  • Santa Monica Masonic Temple: a beautiful Masonic Temple in which this author attended a double 2nd degree and met some amazing Freemasons and friends, including W. Bro. Laurent Khaiat (who has appeared on the podcast).
  • Burbank Masonic Temple: an amazing Masonic Centre and lodge! The author attended a double-degree and BBQ there.
  • Blossom Market Hall: A food hall which is both housed within and is also preserving the San Gabriel (CA) Masonic Temple just outside of Los Angeles.

While Freemasonry is our first love it is not our exclusive love (outside interests are vital to avoid burnout).

While in Los Angeles, we also visited:

  • filming locations from his favourite movie (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) and the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise in general;
  • the iconic Sunset Blvd.;
  • the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame;
  • the Charmed house;
  • the Santa Monica pier;
  • the iconic Hollywood sign; and
  • Knokxpro Wrestling.

Square & Compass Promotions shared pictures from these visits its social media accounts

In terms of other California locations, Square & Compass Promotions twice visited our Masonic Brethren (and attended the Grand Lodge of California’s Annual Communication).

From San Francisco, Square & Compass Promotions visited Brethren in Elko, Nevada by taking Amtrak’s California Zephyr; the views from which are stunning

Like Los Angeles, San Francisco was and is absolutely beautiful; it is also home to the Grand Lodge of California’s building. Like, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Windsor, the Grand Lodge of California building is a credit to both Freemasonry and the City (and State) in which it is located

Square & Compass Promotions features several Los Angeles and California Freemasons in its podcasts and writings.

The Grand Lodge of California has spent the last several making great strides as it relates to social media outreach as well as its community impact.

You can learn about this impact by checking out the Grand Lodge of California’s 2024 Impact Report at: https://freemason.org/impact-report-2024/

Freemasonry and Los Angeles are intimately connected. Per Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Masonic_Temple):

  • When the [Hollywood Masonic Temple] opened, it was one of the most substantial structures in Hollywood. It had a billiard room, pipe organ, ladies parlor, ballroom, and lodge rooms. One writer described the building as “unsurpassed for beauty, attractiveness and richness of equipment.”
  • The Los Angeles Times described the building this way in 2002:
  • “It’s an impassive presence that seems to transcend the ebb and flow of Tinseltown glamour — a somber Neoclassical temple that stands in stark contrast to the evolving parade of movers, shakers, panhandlers and paparazzi that have passed before it.”
  • The grand ballroom was opened in February 1923; the opening ball featured a program on “the evolution of dance” featuring dancer Lucille Means.
  • Many of Hollywood’s elite over the years have been Masons, including: Oliver Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Douglas Fairbanks, W.C. Fields, Cecil B. DeMille, D.W. Griffith, John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry.

The Scottish Rite also has a proud Masonic history within Los Angeles, and is equally a vital part of the Masonic and Cultural history of Los Angeles!

  • The Los Angeles Bodies were organized in 1885 at 125 North Main Street. Albert Pike’s desire to establish the Scottish Rite in all parts of California led to an organizational meeting in the “City of the Angels”, a small town of about 12,000. Pentalph Lodge №202 on Main Street was the scene of the constitution of King Solomon Lodge of Perfection №14, Robert Bruce Chapter of Rose Croix №6 and the Hugues Despaynes Council of Kadosh №3. The Bodies met at the Main Street Location for less than two years when they moved to First and Spring Streets where they held meetings for the next ten years.
  • It is quite natural that the Los Angeles Bodies are deeply involved in theatrical and musical performances. An orchestra had been established as early as 1911 and the Scottish Rite Male Chorus held its 40th birthday in 1955. The Scottish Rite Players staged many productions for the entertainment of the brethren and their families.
  • The one day class of 330 candidates in November, 1974, brought the membership to over 11,000. In 1980, Los Angeles was the largest Valley in the second largest Orient of the Southern Jurisdiction, and the 14th largest Valley in the Jurisdiction. (“Los Angeles Scottish Rite.” Los Angeles Scottish Rite, www.losangelesscottishrite.org/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025).

We do not yet know the full impact of the Los Angeles fires on our Los Angeles Brethren and the Masonic buildings which they call home.

However, we know the significant and deadly impact of the fires on Los Angeles as a whole (an impact which will grow in the coming days).

To help Los Angeles residents affected by the unprecedented wildfires, click on this link.

All opinions expressed are those of Square & Compass Promotions and the guest(s), and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Windsor Masonic Temple and/or any other Masonic group!

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Square & Compass Promotions
Square & Compass Promotions

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Square & Compass Promotions explores the many ways in which Freemasonry is relevant to our communities. We share both Masonic & Personal stories.

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