Downtown’s ornate Masonic Temple for sale
Past master Mason and broker James McCraw, with Avison Young, gives some history of the Knights Templar room during a tour on Feb. 8, 2020, of the ornate, 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue, which recently came on the market for $2.5 million. The building, still home to active lodges, is full of history with architectural details, artifacts and symbols of a fading era. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Jeff Higdon with the brokerage firm Avison Young helps conduct a tour on Feb. 8, 2020, of the Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. “The building lends itself to lots of different types of uses," he said. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Medallions of Masonic rank hang in the 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue on Feb. 8, 2020. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Past master Mason and broker James McCraw with Avison Young looks over a wall of former Worshipful Masters during a tour on Feb. 8, 2020, of the Masonic Lodge at 272 Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
The 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue has recently come on the market for $2.5 million under a listing by the brokerage firm Avison Young. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
The square and compasses, symbols of the Freemasons, are everywhere in the Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue, even as a filament illuminating the Desoto Lodge room. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Jeff Higdon with the brokerage firm Avison Young looks for a switch to turn on stage lights in the Knights Templar room during a Feb. 8, 2020, tour of the Masonic Lodge. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A Feb. 8, 2020, tour of the Masonic Lodge feels like moving through time, from the 1920s to mid-century America and back again. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
The 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue is still home to active lodges. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
An antique intercom system connects many of the rooms in the 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Jeff Higdon, with the brokerage firm Avison Young, enters the Knights Templar room at the Masonic Lodge on Court, with its ornate stage. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A room formerly used by the Order of the Eastern Star sits empty during a tour Feb. 8, 2020, of the Masonic Lodge on Court. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Walking through the Masonic Lodge at 272 Court Avenue on Feb. 8, 2020, can feel like time travel. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Strange artifacts from a bygone time, like this old push-button phone, still remain in the Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Jeff Higdon (right) and past master Mason and broker James McCraw, with the firm Avison Young, conduct a tour Feb. 8, 2020, of the Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
The square and compasses, the artchitect's tools that are the symbol of Freemasonry, appear everywhere at the Masonic Lodge on Court -- even on doorknobs. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Old portraits of men who are probably long gone adorn the walls of the 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A huge rug consisting of the Order of the Easter Star logo sits in the middle of the Knights Templar room in the 106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Avison Young's James McCraw, a past master Mason and broker, shows off the various lodge rooms of the Masonic Temple on Court, which has come on the market. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
A framed symbol hngs on the wall of the Masonic Temple at 272 Court, representative of another era in Memphis. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
The square and compasses show up even in an elaborately decorated elevator on a Feb. 8, 2020, tour of the Masonic Temple at 272 Court. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Photos of meetings long in the past remain at the Masonic Temple on Court, which has come on the market. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Organ pipes from an unfinished renovation project lean against a wall in a hallway at the106-year-old Masonic Lodge on Court Avenue. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Old furnishings at the Masonic Lodge on Court suggest secret rituals from another era. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
Jeff Higdon (left) and James McCraw of Avison Young are brokers for the Masonic Lodge on Court. "There's lots of interest," Higdon said. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian)
For sale for $2.5 million: A one-owner building with six floors, huge rooms and rich architectural detailing.
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Masonic Lodge Downtown development Commercial Real Estate Avison YoungThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Tom Bailey
Tom Bailey retired in January as a business reporter at The Daily Memphian, and after 40 years in journalism. A Tupelo, Mississippi, native, he graduated from Mississippi State University. He has lived in Midtown for 36 years.
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