One of the world’s leading research libraries for Masonic studies is right here in Cedar Rapids.
Few things stir as much excitement and curiosity as the organization called the Masons. Remember the Nicholas Cage movie National Treasure and the vast subterranean wealth of New York City? The movie has two stars on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s fun to watch. It’s only one of many movies, books, documentaries, etc. that use Mason legends to construct a really rockin’ story. Audiences are drawn to the lure of esoteric knowledge and secret societies – rites, tradition, wealth, and pride handed down through generations.
It’s an exciting idea, and there’s definitely an esoteric element to the world of Masons. But when I read that Cedar Rapids had a large Masonic library and museum, I decided there would be no treasure-hunting here and no searching for secret occult knowledge (!). I simply wanted to learn more about the organization based on its library and museum artifacts. Also, the past few years has made me even more of a feminist, and the Masons are a fraternal order: women are excluded. Pshhhhht.
Realistically, the Masons are an interesting organization that actually suffers the same attrition that other religious, social and political groups do in the world today. Generally speaking, institutions don’t seem to carry as much weight in the world as they used to, and masons aren’t magically exempt from the trend. Local lodges recruit and hold fundraisers. They raise awareness about themselves and build good social capital in communities by hosting benefits for their local government, having appreciation dinners, building infrastructure, and other things.
The infrastructure piece is what landed the Grand Lodge of Iowa’s museum and library on my list of places to see in Cedar Rapids. When I walked up to the windowless white stone building, between the lions, through the heavy front door, I met the librarian Bill, who gave me a short tour and a fascinating brief history of the Masons in Cedar Rapids and Iowa. The lodge’s library web page has more detailed information on the library and great pictures!
Back to infrastructure: Bill told me that their library has a large non-Masonic archive as addition to their own collection because they were the first public library in Cedar Rapids.
Also of interest to note was that the grand lodge, usually put in a state’s capitol city, is in Cedar Rapids in Iowa instead of Des Moines. Apparently, Des Moines bid land, and Cedar Rapids bid both a building and land. They won the grand lodge location and the house they built was a mansion. Here’s a picture:
The library inside the mansion was shelved on beautifully carved Victorian-style bookcases. Bill explained that not many books fit on the shelves in this style of case, and our more functional light metal shelves gradually phased out the thick wood as the years went by. A few cases are still housed in the museum, though.
Eventually, the order razed the house and built the modern windowless white stone building.
A table in the museum is designed to show the various Mason organization branches – Scottish Rite, York Rite, Blue Lodge (the middle of the pyramid), and so on. It’s a complex web, just as intricate as the artistically designed table.
A few other artifacts:
The library was an interesting place. According to Bill, there are four levels to the library: the main level (pictured here), a downstairs level, and two higher levels. The library has four levels altogether. Unless visitors have a specific research errand, the other three floors are generally closed off. On the main level, the non-Masonic works are on the right, and the Masonic collection is on the left, marked with an “M” for Mason. Of course, the library also contains many important archive papers for the city Cedar Rapids as well as their own organization here. I enjoyed seeing the pretty book covers and the handwritten reference codes.
It was a great visit and so educational – I discovered many odd artifacts and with them, parts of history I never knew existed. What stood out to me most is the burning desire of humanity to belong in a community. Through history, many have found their sense of belonging with this organization called the Masons. It’s odd how tying on an apron or passing down an admittedly bizarre Masonic legend has provided this sense of belonging for men. Although for now I do stand by the idea that institutions have faded in the world, this drive to belong is still strong, and manifests itself in social movement and social media and politics. It makes me wonder which is less harmful: an open society or a secret society. My guess is that in the end, society is only as good as the people in it, and people have been historically unable to stand up to the measure of good character since long before the Masons were conceived.
~ The Dauntless Princess ~
Bonus picture: the mansion next door is being renovated and restored to be an Iowa history center!
