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Sparta Masonic Temple

Sparta, US

Sparta Masonic Temple

The Monroe County Museum is a historic building located in Sparta, Wisconsin. It was constructed in 1923 as a meeting hall for a local Masonic Lodge, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 under the historic name "Sparta Masonic Temple". An order of Masons was organized i

n Sparta in 1854. Meetings were held in homes until 1891, when a Masonic Temple was constructed at the corner of Main and Water Streets. By 1919 the various lodges that shared the building had outgrown it, so they bought land and constructed the new building, which is the subject of this article. Sparta's new Masonic Temple was completed in 1923, with construction delayed because of the steel shortage due to WWI. The building was designed by Parkinson & Dockendorff of La Crosse, combining the proportions of Classical Revival style with the low-pitched hip roof and wide eaves of Prairie Style. The framework is reinforced concrete and steel, clad in cream brick. Two-story pilasters are formed from that brick. The roof is covered in red tile. The Sparta Herald gave a nice description of the inside when it opened in 1923: "Entering the marble wainscoted vestibule you come to the main hallway...

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