Masonic Temple (Providence)

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Veterans Memorial Auditorium--Masonic Temple
U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Location:	Providence, Rhode Island
Coordinates:	41°49′47.45″N 71°25′2.73″W / 41.8298472, -71.417425Coordinates: 41°49′47.45″N 71°25′2.73″W / 41.8298472, -71.417425
Built/Founded:	1927
Architect:	Multiple
Architectural style(s):	Classical Revival
Added to NRHP:	November 16, 1993
NRHP Reference#:	93001181 ^[1]
Governing body:	Private

The Masonic Temple (known locally as the "Mason Building") is one of two monumental buildings in central Providence that remained unfinished and abandoned for decades. Originally planned as a meeting hall for the Freemasons, construction work was abandoned in 1929 as a result of financial difficulties caused by the Great Depression. With the outbreak of World War II construction was halted permanently.

The building, constructed in the Greek Revival style, is located prominently on Francis Street opposite the Rhode Island State House. The opening of the Providence Place Mall next door across Hayes Street has made the site prime real estate. In 2004, the building was purchased by Sage Hospitality Resources, which converted it into a luxury hotel. The Renaissance Providence Hotel opened in June 2007.

The adjoining building known as the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, located between the Mason Building and Interstate 95, was originally part of the same complex, and was connected to the Temple by a small structure at ground level. While construction halted at the same time as the Temple building, it was completed in the 1950s.^[2]