Building rededication planned for 2011
The Masonic lodge at the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets
is receiving a much needed renovation to its interior, and the
Masons hope to spruce up the outside in time for a rededication of
the structure in 2011. The date was chosen because William Bray
III, a member of the local lodge, will be able to officiate after
he becomes the highest ranking Mason in California at the start of
the year.
Building rededication planned for 2011
The Masonic lodge at the corner of Fourth and San Benito streets is receiving a much needed renovation to its interior, and the Masons hope to spruce up the outside in time for a rededication of the structure in 2011. The date was chosen because William Bray III, a member of the local lodge, will be able to officiate after he becomes the highest ranking Mason in California at the start of the year.
One of the major repairs will be getting the clock tower in working order and to cover it in metal for a more aesthetic and long lasting, appearance.
“The tower currently has painted-over metal coating, but if we could cover it in brass or copper it would be a real eye catcher,” said Robert Wilson, the inspector of the 353 Masonic District.
The second story of the building is used for lodge functions, and Wilson offered a tour that showed the upgrades the interior has received.
“This is the ladies lounge room,” he said, opening the door to a sitting area that was markedly cleaner, brighter and less musty than the dining room and hallway of historic artifacts.
“We changed all the old dark wood to white carpet, put in the new curved windows that face the street and put in new lamps,” he said.
Wilson noted that the ceiling had been falling down in the corner, the fireplace was “chipped up and just a mess,” and the old windows had dry rot to the extent that one could stick their fingers through the casings to the outside.
“The next thing we worked on was the wiring,” Wilson said. “There was original knob and tube wiring, and we even removed old tubing used to pump gas into old gas light fixtures.”
Wilson showed off a newly patched anteroom, where extensive water damage had been repaired and the lodge had been re-roofed to avoid further damage.
“We do still have a bat infestation, though,” he said. “We just can’t pinpoint where they are getting in, but we hear them rustling around up there, so we’ll have to get the guys back that deal with bats.”
In the clock tower itself the battery-powered clock hands are at a standstill as the Masons try to find gears. Bob Yant, the owner of Enterprise Electric, has volunteered for years to help keep the clock running, and has been invaluable according to Wilson.
“As soon as we can get our hands on the correct gears he’ll have it up and running,” Wilson said, adding that Yant has gone so far as to add a remote control feature that allows the clocks to be set from street level.
Outside the tower on the roof, the need for renovation is even more apparent up close. Peeling paint and grainy dirt cover the surface.
“We are going to get rid of the wooden façade around and underneath the clock,” Wilson said. “And we’ll replace them with the canvas type awnings you see in other places around town.”
The renovations have extended to the first story of the building, which is leased out for retail uses. A large retail corner space on the first floor was refurbished just before the antique shop, Home Expressions, went out of business. The space is available for lease. Another business, Novias La Princesa, a dress shop, occupies the retail space on the San Benito side of the corner building.
The original plans for the lodge, according to Sharlene Van Rooy, a member of the San Benito Historical Society, were drawn up by noted Central Coast architect William Weeks and accepted by the Masonic Building Association in 1906.
“The directors sold shares for $25 each to raise a portion of the $21,000 needed to build this two-story, pressed brick structure. On Saturday, June 1, 1907, the cornerstone was laid with services provided by the order,” Van Rooy wrote in a successful application to place the structure on the National Trust for Historic Preservation list.
