Masonic Temple

Fraternal organizations played an important role in Fairbanks’ formative years as they do today. Formed in 1904, the Tanana Masonic Club was one of the first. The original one-story structure, built in 1906 by the Tanana Commercial Company, was purchased by the Masons on 1908 from E.T. Barnette himself. The front of the simply-designed building had bay windows; the rest of the building was sheathed in tin. Over the next few years, the Masons built the rear addition and add­ed a second story for lodge rooms and the Main Hall. Continuing to rent out the first floor as a store, they built a basement under the building in 1913. In 1916, the Eclectic Renaissance Revival style facade was added, providing a perfect backdrop for President Harding when he addressed Fairbanksans from the steps of the building in 1923. The roof of the vacant building collapsed on March 17, 2018, and the rest of the building was demolished the next day. It was delisted from the National Register of Historic Places in August 2018.