herr2ck: Peppermint Patty

February 2026.

The York on High, also known as the York Masonic Lodge No. 563 or simply York Temple, is a historic former Masonic lodge. To my knowledge, this is only one of three remaining Freemasonry-related buildings from this time period in Columbus, along with the Masonic Temple downtown and St. Mark’s Lodge in King-Lincoln Bronzeville (which I haven’t visited).

The York on High is located at 1276 North High Street in the Short North neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. It is bordered by a commercial building to the north, apartments to the south, Courtland Avenue to the east, and High Street to the west.

History

Some of Columbus’s Freemasons had tried to establish a lodge north of downtown since the 1880s to create a renewed interest in the then-stagnant organization, to little avail. Their efforts eventually paid off with the official founding of York Lodge on September 23, 1891, the first north of Union Station (which formerly marked the northern boundary of the city). Its founders voted unanimously to name the contingent after York, England, a center of Freemasonry.

Although there were enough members living on the north side to warrant its founding, the York Lodge continued to meet at the main Masonic Temple downtown until 1893. A year earlier, they had initiated their first members and voted to move to a hall in the Sullivan Building (I’ve also heard it named the Lyndon Building) at the corner of High Street and 5th Avenue. According to the lodge’s own history, the older lodges in Columbus made it very difficult to establish new ones, despite the rapid growth of the city since the Civil War.

York Lodge members at the groundbreaking of their current building. (York Lodge No. 563)

Although I’m not sure if all of the Masonic conspiracies are true about running a grand cabal that will eventually establish a new world order, it is a fact that York Lodge held its members to a very high standard. Some were disciplined or even expelled for skipping out on dues payments, while others faced harsh punishment for “unmasonic conduct.” Even actions not committed by a Mason were under scrutiny, as one member had a brother who was “disgracefully intoxicated at various occasions and at various places” in 1897. Tribunals for these transgressions could lead to expulsion from the lodge.

Evidently, the near north side had grown enough to support a Masonic lodge with ease, as at the end of 1901 the York Lodge had over 400 members and $23,000 in their treasury. A year prior they had paid off all debts. After “considerable agitation” for a new building since the turn of the 20th century, in 1907, the lodge moved once again to a building at the corner of High Street and Smith Place, across the street of the current building. Despite this $5,000 acquisition, it was not intended to be a permanent move, and the Freemasons planned to expand into their own purpose-built lodge.

The newly completed building in 1915, as it appeared on the dedication program. (York Lodge No. 563)

Thereafter, York Lodge commissioned local firm Stribling & Lum to design a grand building to use for their meetings and rituals. (Architecture: Columbus, which was written about a decade before the NRHP listing was made, states that its architect was unknown but attributed Frank Packard due to the exterior ornamentation.) The Renaissance Revival design was built between May 1914 and October 1915 at a cost of $72,000. It was built with a kitchen, dining room, pool hall, ballroom, and a lodge room designed to “precise Masonic specifications.” Perhaps Charles Stribling or his partner were Masons as well?

Not even a decade after their lodge was complete, York Lodge was already pondering an extensive renovation or another new building as of 1922. At that time, the lodge had 2,000 members. In 1926, they established a school to teach Masonic ritual to the younger members, though this was done orally and traditions were often corrupted in the process. York Lodge’s membership peaked in 1928 at 2,224 Masons.

1960s photo of the exterior. (York Lodge No. 563)

Beginning in 1929, with the advent of the Great Depression, York Lodge’s membership slowly dropped through the following decades. Although their tradition of philanthropy continued at that time, fewer members meant less income earned through dues, which resulted in cutting maintenance costs on the lodge building. Additionally, as the Short North saw a rise in crime beginning in the 1970s, some members felt unsafe attending meetings there. By the end of its time there, the lodge was spending $37,000 a year on basic maintenance, and a contractor quoted $600,000 for necessary repairs and $1.2 million for a full restoration. The lodge’s Past Master said that staying in the aging building and restoring it “didn’t seem like a very Masonic way of spending money” due to their charitable obligations.

The lodge in 1983. (NRHP listing)

The building that York Lodge occupied was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. The preparer noted some alterations that occurred around that time, such as the removal of the parapet for “safety reasons” and modernizations in the kitchen. However, it reportedly was in largely original condition both inside and out.

In the end, York Lodge decided to sell the building in 2002 and relocate. In 2005, developer Joe Armeni purchased the building and hired the firm Behal, Sampson, & Dietz to adaptively reuse it as apartments. This work was completed around 2008, and it is now known as The York on High. As of that year, the lodge had about 880 members, with an average age of 65. Today, their lodge is on Dublin-Granville Road, just northeast of the Ohio State University Airport.

Photos

The roof is still missing its parapet, but aside from that, this lodge is in just fantastic condition.

The masonry work on the exterior is very fine:

Much of the facade is a rusticated, glazed brown brick, with several recessed courses and exaggerated lintel patterns on the first floor. A course of stone separates the two stories, and the second floor features large corbels and more stonework. Also note the two panels with the Masonic compass symbol.

The entrance retains its cast-iron canopy (albeit painted a shade of white that is not historically accurate) and fine stone trim:

Still remarkable that it is intact. Although they were common on turn-of-the-century buildings in classical styles such as Renaissance Revival like this one or Beaux-Arts, these canopies were frequently an easy target for exterior “modernizations.”