For over a century, the Masonic Temple on East Broadway has served as the meeting location for the masonic brotherhood of Missoula. Clad with extensive terra cotta and combining two-story window bays, enriched molding, and a variety of European styles, the Masonic Temple is nothing less than a grand building, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Shortly after the founding of Missoula in the 1860s, the Masons began meeting unofficially in the Higgins and Worden store and were known as the “Mipoula” lodge of the Masonic Order. By the time they received their charter in late 1868, members of the masonic lodge included Missoula founders Frank Woody and C. P. Higgins, as well as Dr. John Buker, the first physician to arrive in Missoula. Through the end of the nineteenth century, the lodge continued to boast Missoula’s elite as its core membership, and in 1898 the Grand Lodge of Masons presided over the laying of the cornerstone of Main Hall at the University of Montana.

The Masonic Temple that you see today, designed by the prominent firm, Link and Haire of Great Falls, opened its doors in 1909 and is the only example of the Beaux Arts architecture style in historic Missoula. The first and second floors were once used for clubs and billiard rooms while the third floor was reserved for the lodge. Between the 1920s and 1970s, the building also housed the Montana Power Company. The Masons continue to meet in the upper floors, while the first floor is occupied by local shops and businesses, as are some of the other floors of the building.

Prepared by HRA, Inc. Information derived from the National Park Service, National Register of Historic Place; A Guide to Historic Missoula by Allan James Mathews; and Missoula, The Way It Was by Lenora Koelbel. Historic photos courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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HRA, Inc.