Masonic
Temple
On First Avenue, east of the Cushman Street Bridge, is the landmark
Masonic Temple.
The Tanana Commercial Company built it in 1906, but only owned it for a short
while.
In early Fairbanks, fraternal organizations were popular, and in 1908 the local
Masons bought the building to use as their meeting hall.
When the building was extensively remodeled in 1916, the
distinctive false front was added. Other additions included luxurious furniture from
California and carpeting from Belgium. The current false front looks pretty much as it did
in 1916.
The Masonic Temple is on the National Register of Historic
Places. It has become too expensive for the Masons to keep up, needing structural repair
and new utility work to meet building codes, so the Masons are talking of plans to build a
new building and sell the Temple, which of course does not sit well with the historic preservationists!