38th Annual Walking Tour Archive – Danville Historical Society

Historic Designation: Masonic Temple
Address: 435 Main Street, Danville, VA
2010 Owners: Santa's Workshop
Description:

Each December, the owners/developers of the landmark former Masonic Temple make sure that some of its show windows and ornate lobby shine with festive reminders of Christmas past.  For the delight of weekend tour-goers in 2010, Santa's Workshop has taken over the storefront and retail space at 435 Main Street.  Nearby, giant snowflakes "float" above the lobby's marble floor, suspended from the intricate coffered plaster ceiling.  On a daily basis, this lobby remains the first grand impression to a grand building - clad in stone and architetural terracotta - the eleven-story Masonic Temple completed in 1921 in modern Tudor Gothic style.  Its three-and-a-half-story 1901 predecessor was destroyed in a disastrous fire on January 3,1920.  The Roman Eagle masons built their first temple on this site in 1851.

38th Annual Walking Tour Index