The Masons Sell Their Temple: A Seattle Landmark Changes Hands
St. John's Lodge No. 9 of the Free and Accepted Masons has decided to abandon its historic street front on James Street, putting the property up for public bid in a move that signals shifting tides for Seattle’s civic institutions.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
St. John's Lodge, No. 9, of Free and Accepted Masons of Seattle, having determined to build elsewhere than on their present street lot, now offers the same for sale. The property fronts forty-two feet one-half foot on the east side of James Street between Cherry and Union streets in Seattle.
Propositions to purchase this property will be received and presented to the lodge by either two of the following members of the Lodge, who have been appointed a committee for that purpose: W.H. Whitman, H. MacKinnon, or Henry Bullock. Propositions should be submitted before the 8th of February, 1899.
W.H. Whitman, Chairman.
This brief notice captures a moment of transition in late-19th century Seattle, where established civic organizations were liquidating prime real estate assets to fund new construction or relocate as the city expanded rapidly. It mirrors modern debates over historic preservation versus development, as well as the financial pressures facing non-profits and institutions that own significant urban land.
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