Date:
Location: Silver Lake, California
Organized by the SAH Southern California Chapter
Join Victoria Lautman as she steps inside the mysterious world of the Freemasons—one of history’s most popular yet misunderstood societies—and hear about its lasting imprint in and around Los Angeles. The first Grand Lodge in San Francisco, California dates from 1850, and three years later LA’s Lodge #42 became the first in our city. Today, there are dramatic edifices scattered around, like Millard Sheets’ 1961 Scottish Rites Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard, the 1925 sphinx-guarded Scottish Rites Cathedral in Pasadena by Joseph Blick, and Jimmy Kimmel’s studio in the El Capitan Entertainment Centre - formerly Hollywood Masonic Lodge #355 from 1922. Smaller structures can be seen in many zip codes, for instance the music venues now known as the Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever cemetery and The Lodge Room in what was Highland Park’s Masonic Lodge #382, or the former North Hollywood Masonic Temple by Robert Stacy-Judd, now a glitzy event center. But wherever you look - whether within the city, the state, or much further afield - you’ll find buildings with Masonic origins. Join Victoria and author, historian, and preservationist Charles Fisher as they explore and decode the architecture and symbolism of the Freemasons.
Charles Fisher has successfully nominated nearly 200 Historic Cultural Monuments in the city, has written books on the Highland Park and Garvanza communities in LA and is finishing a book on Los Angeles historic monuments. He joined the Freemasons in 1975 and is now a Master Mason, recently honored as a 33rddegree Scottish Rite Mason, and serves on the Pasadena Scottish Rite Cathedral Board. He is also a founding member of the Los Angeles Pyramid No. 59 Egyptian Order of Sciots.
Visit the SAHSCC website to register.
VISUAL WORLD with Victoria Lautman: The Architecture and Symbolism of Freemasonry — Saturday, October 25th, 2025; 11 AM Pacific; $5 in person or for Zoom link. In-person attendees should go to the Neutra Office Building, 2379 Glendale Boulevard in Silver Lake. We regret that this venue is not ADA accessible. Street parking only. Light refreshments will be served. Go to www.sahscc.org and pay via PayPal; or mail in order form with check; Zoom link sent upon registration.
