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{{WikipediaImport}}{{Infobox building
| name                = The House of the Temple
| image               = House of the Temple.JPG
| caption             = House of the Temple in 2008
| map_type            = United States Washington, D.C.
| map_caption         = Location within Washington, D.C.
| coordinates         = {{coord|38.9138|-77.0359|region:US-DC_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| address             = 1733 [[16th Street NW (Washington, D.C.)|16th St NW]]
| location_town       = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| location_country    = [[United States]]
| architect           = [[John Russell Pope]]
| client              = [[Supreme Council, Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction, USA)|Scottish Rite of Freemasonry]]
| construction_start_date = October 18, 1911
| completion_date     = October 18, 1915
| style               = [[Architecture of the United States#Colonial Architecture (16th century - 18th century)|American]] [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassicism]]
}}
The '''House of the Temple''' is a [[Masonic temple]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[United States]] that serves as the headquarters of the [[Scottish Rite]] of Freemasonry, [[Supreme Council, Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction, USA)|Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A.]] (officially, '''Home of The Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, Washington D.C., U.S.A.''')

Designed by [[John Russell Pope]], it stands at 1733 [[16th Street NW (Washington, D.C.)|16th Street]], [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|N.W.]], in the [[Dupont Circle]] neighborhood, about one mile directly north of the [[White House]].  The full name of the Supreme Council is "The Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commander of the House of the [[Temple of Solomon]] of the Thirty-third degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America."  It was modeled after the [[Mausoleum of Halicarnassus|tomb of Mausolus]] at [[Halicarnassus]].

It contains multiple museum rooms devoted to various subject matters which change on a rotating basis. The Temple also holds a permanent large collection of materials related to Scottish poet and Freemason [[Robert Burns]], one of the world’s largest, in its library holdings, which Library was the first public library in Washington, D.C.<ref name="nomination" />

==History==
On May 31, 1911, 110 years after the founding of the Supreme Council, Grand Commander James D. Richardson broke ground on the spot where the House of the Temple now stands in Washington, D.C. Grand Master J. Claude Keiper, of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, laid the cornerstone in the northeast corner on October 18, 1911.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bell|first=Debra|date=January 6, 2010|title=The Freemasons In Washington|work=U.S. News & World Report|url=http://www.usnews.com/listings/freemasonry-in-washington/1-house-of-the-temple|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106185129/http://www.usnews.com/listings/freemasonry-in-washington/1-house-of-the-temple|url-status=dead|access-date=September 11, 2020|archive-date=2010-01-06}}</ref>

[[File:House of the Temple rear view.JPG|thumb|left|150px|House of the Temple rear view]]
The temple was designed by architect [[John Russell Pope]], who modeled it after the [[Mausoleum of Halicarnassus|tomb of Mausolus]] at [[Halicarnassus]], one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]].<ref name=nomination>{{cite web | format=PDF | url=http://image1.nps.gov/lizardtech/iserv/getdoc?cat=NRHP&item=/Text/78003060.djvu&DJVUOPTS&thumbnails=true | date=January 30, 1978 | title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form | last=Helwig | first=Anne H. |author2=Ganschinietz, Suzanne | work=[[National Capital Planning Commission]] | publisher=([[National Park Service]]) | access-date=February 28, 2010 }}</ref> The building was dedicated four years later on October 18, 1915.

The building's design was widely praised by contemporary architects, and it won Pope the Gold Medal of the [[Architectural League of New York]] in 1917. In his 1920 book ''L'Architecture aux États-Unis'', French architect [[Jacques Gréber]] described it as "a monument of remarkable sumptuousness ... the ensemble is an admirable study of antique architecture stamped with a powerful dignity." [[Fiske Kimball]]'s 1928 book ''American Architecture'' describes it as "an example of the triumph of classical form in America". In the 1920s, a panel of architects named it "one of the three best public buildings" in the United States, along with the [[Nebraska State Capitol]] and the [[Pan American Union Building]] in Washington, D.C. In 1932, it was ranked as one of the ten top buildings in the country in a poll of [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] architects.<ref>[http://www.scottishrite.org/where/hq.html House of the Temple] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070117005008/http://www.scottishrite.org/where/hq.html |date=2007-01-17 }}, The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A. & S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA website, accessed June 18, 2010</ref>

[[File:House of the Temple library.jpg|thumb|left|150px|House of the Temple library]]
[[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] general and former Sovereign Grand Commander [[Albert Pike]] was the author of an 1871 book called ''[[Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry]]'', a book that describes in detail the 33 degrees of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, the stories and teachings associated with each rank, the rituals connected to each rank, and other lodge proceedings.  In 1944, the remains of Albert Pike were removed from [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]] in [[Georgetown, D.C.|Georgetown]] and placed in the House of the Temple.<ref name=wapopike>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/why-is-confederate-general-albert-pike-memorialized-at-judiciary-square/2016/10/22/9d69f26c-96ed-11e6-bc79-af1cd3d2984b_story.html | title=Why is Confederate general Albert Pike memorialized at Judiciary Square? | work=The Washington Post | date=October 22, 2016 | access-date=September 26, 2020 | author=Kelly, John}}</ref> The remains of Past Grand Commander John Henry Cowles were entombed in the temple in 1952, after his 31-year reign as Grand Commander.  The Temple also holds one of the largest collections of materials related to [[Scottish people|Scottish]] poet and Freemason [[Robert Burns]] in its library, the first [[public library]] in Washington, D.C.<ref name=nomination/><ref name=cowles>{{cite book | title=Lodge of the Double-headed Eagle | publisher=University of Arkansas Press | author=Fox, William L. | year=1997 | pages=258 | isbn=9781610752435}}</ref>
[[File:Masonic Temple Washington DC.jpg|thumb|Temple at night]]
The House of the Temple is designated as a [[contributing property]] to the [[Sixteenth Street Historic District]], listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1978.<ref name=nps>{{cite web | url=http://www.nps.gov/history/Nr/travel/wash/dc53.htm | title=16th Street Historic District | publisher=[[National Park Service]] | access-date=February 28, 2010 }}</ref>

From 1990 to 2011, the temple hosted a [[community garden]] on its grounds. The Temple Garden occupied about {{convert|0.25|acre|m2|adj=on}}, divided into about 70 small plots worked by nearby residents.<ref name="garden">{{cite web| title =Plot Map| publisher =The Temple Garden| url =http://templegarden.net/wp/plot-map/| access-date =2010-09-16| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110724092751/http://templegarden.net/wp/plot-map/| archive-date =2011-07-24}}</ref> In fall 2011, the Temple closed the garden in order to use the space to stage construction equipment for a rehabilitation project.<ref name ="closure">{{cite news | last = Roso| first = Larissa| title = Garden to Close for Masonic Temple renovation | work = The Washington Post | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/garden-to-close-for-masonic-temple-renovation/2011/04/18/AFhArt1D_story.html | access-date = 2012-08-24 | date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
In the 2009 novel ''[[The Lost Symbol]]'' by [[Dan Brown]], the building is the setting for several key scenes.<ref name=npr>{{cite news | last=Siegel | first=Robert | author-link=Robert Siegel | url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112884584&ps=cprs | work=[[All Things Considered]] | publisher=[[National Public Radio]] | date=September 16, 2009 | access-date=September 18, 2009 | title=Secret of the Masons: It's Not So Secret }}</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|Society}}
* [[List of Masonic buildings]]
* [[List of museums in Washington, D.C.]]
* [[National Museum of Women in the Arts]], a nearby building that was a Masonic temple
* [[Julius Lansburgh Furniture Co., Inc.]], an office building that was a Masonic temple

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|House of the Temple}}
* [http://www.scottishrite.org/ Supreme Council, Scottish Rite official website] 
* [http://scottishrite.org/headquarters/virtual-tour/ House of the Temple], virtual tour
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805044231/http://www.usnews.com/news/photos/the-house-of-the-temple/3 "Inside the House of the Temple"], photo gallery by ''[[U.S. News & World Report]]''
*[http://dcmemorials.com/index_indiv0001795.htm 12 photos]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071213185012/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/poi_mason.html ''Smithsonian'' magazine]

{{Freemasonry in the Americas}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dupont Circle]]
[[Category:Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:History museums in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:John Russell Pope buildings]]
[[Category:Masonic buildings completed in 1915]]
[[Category:Masonic buildings in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Masonic museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Public libraries in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.]]