Historic Loyalhanna Masonic Lodge gets place in national registry

When Loyalhanna Lodge No. 275 completed its five-story Latrobe Masonic Building in October 1927, it was the largest commercial structure in the community.

The stately building boasted such modern amenities as an elevator and a steam-heated garage for six vehicles, as well as fireproof construction featuring a steel frame, concrete slabs, a buff brick facade and an interior fire stair.

Nearly 90 years later, those elements and other architectural details remain intact, leading to a new distinction for the building — a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The building is still the same, inside and out,” said manager Ralph Shearer, a past worshipful master of the lodge and chairman of the Latrobe Masonic Building Trust that owns the structure.

“The building has changed very little,” agreed architectural historian Clinton Piper, who submitted the building's Historic Place application for review by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. “It's probably one of the most intact buildings that was built as a Masonic lodge.”

“It was designed to support itself,” trust treasurer Ron McKenzie said of the building, which includes retail space on the first floor and rental apartments on the second and third floors, keeping with the original layout.

“I'm proud that we've been able to keep them all occupied,” Shearer said of the 19 housing units and seven storefronts.

The building cost about $200,000 to construct, with Berkebile Brothers of Johnstown serving as the general contractor. The property, stretching 100 feet along each of the intersecting streets, was purchased from Henry G. Donnelly for $20,000.

The building was designed by architect John Eberson, a native of Germany, and an associate from Latrobe, Harry Weaver. According to Piper, Eberson was known for designing theater buildings across the country that offered plenty of “atmosphere,” and the lodge room at the Latrobe Masonic Building shares that influence.

The fourth-floor room, where meetings and ceremonies are conducted, is the building's “grandest space,” Piper noted in his application. Its coffered ceiling soars 19 feet and is replete with decorative plasterwork, illuminated by matching chandeliers and sconces.

Shearer pointed out the room's decorative touches, though freshened up, are all originals: “Nothing has changed, only the paint. It was painted four years ago.”

A smaller banquet room with an equally lofty ceiling is distinguished by a musician's balcony with ornately carved supports.

In addition to Loyalhanna Lodge 275, related Masonic men's organizations that meet in the building include the Latrobe LAMAS Club, Thomas Anderson Chapter 309 of the Royal Arch Masons, the Westmoreland Forest Tall Cedars 77, Olivet Council 13 and Kedron Commandery 18. A women's group, Eastern Star 221, also uses the facility.

The town's public library occupied a storefront on Spring Street before gaining its own nearby Ligonier Street address through a bequest from George H. Adams, a Pennsylvania Railroad official and one of the lodge's past worshipful masters. Golfer Arnold Palmer has been a member of the lodge since 1958.

The Loyalhanna Lodge, organized in 1853, is the second oldest Masonic lodge in Westmoreland County, after Greensburg's lodge, which dates to 1847. A separate Latrobe Lodge 722 was formed in 1923 but was absorbed back into the older lodge after 1941.

Sales of insurance to lodge members helped finance construction of the Latrobe Masonic Building. Then, in 1938, during the Great Depression, the building was sold to the Reliance Insurance Company.

“In 1945, a group got together and bought the building back. That's when the trust was formed,” Shearer said.

Jarod Trunzo was thrilled to learn of the Masonic building's Historic Site designation, approved Feb. 2. The Latrobe Community Revitalization Program, which he directs, provided the trust $10,000 in state facade improvement grants that were used to spruce up storefront windows with installation of awnings.

“It's an amazing building,” Trunzo said. “They always have tenants, which is not easy to do. It sets an example for other buildings.”

Shearer said there are plans to repoint the brick facade this year, followed by a ceremony to formally recognize the building's new historic designation.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-836-6622 or jhimler@tribweb.com.