A masonic monument
By RW Bro Tony Maiorana
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial (GWMNM), located in Alexandria, Virginia, is a favourite destination for visitors from all over the world and for fans of American history and Freemasonry.
The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Photo courtesy of Joe Ravi
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here are plenty of reasons for this. The building is dedicated to the memory of the first President of the United States, who was a Freemason. The Memorial, whose construction began in 1922, was inaugurated in 1932 but completed only in 1970. The laying of the foundation stone in 1923 was presided over by President Calvin Coolidge using the same trowel used by Washington for the founding ceremony of the National Capitol. This trowel is kept in the Alexandria-Washington Lodge. It is estimated that approximately 14,000 Freemasons, dignitaries, military personnel, police and others were present.
Washington’s masonic monument 8
March 2021
Each US state deposited a symbolic object including a US flag; a bronze medal commemorating the inauguration of past President Warren Gamaliel Harding; a bronze plaque recording the names of the architects, project leaders, landscapers, engineers and contractors in charge of the monument; a Christian Bible; a lambskin apron; a copy of William Joseph Williams’ painting (1794) depicting George Washington in masonic regalia; several books and pamphlets on Washington’s life and the history of Freemasonry in America and a capsule which contained copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence together with books and other objects. Neoclassical in style – well blended with neo-Greek and the neo-Roman architecture – the monument consists of nine floors. In the middle of the first floor is the Grand Masonic Hall, which has eight large columns, four on each side of the hall and is 20 metres long, wide and tall. On the seventh floor there is a room that is a symbolic reproduction of the legendary crypt under the temple of Solomon
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