In an earlier post, we mentioned that the Lakeside Drive location was not the first for the Oakland Scottish Rite. Masonic lodges were operating in Oakland during the early 1850s, and the Oakland Scottish Rite was constituted in 1883. As Oakland grew, so did the organization; its members were some of the most well-known names in the Town’s early years. Names such as George Cooper Pardee, Mayor of Oakland (1893–1895), and later the governor of California (1903–1907) grace the membership rosters.

Below are photographs of the Oakland Scottish Rite’s first meeting places, all concentrated near downtown and on the western bank of Lake Merritt. These buildings are memorials to the wisdom, strength, and beauty that assisted humankind with constructing wondrous works of state and religious art. Whether or not Freemasonry exerted any historical influence on these endeavors is immaterial; the Craft employs these mythological and historical periods to teach, learn, and socialize. Few secular organizations possess these qualities, and, as such, our temples and halls represent a valid and unique contribution to the development of civic space and the cultivation of the social and intellectual graces. We are stewards of this honorable heritage–especially here in Oakland, where we have enjoyed three official Scottish Rite temples!