Artist's Sketch of Masonic Temple on Bedford Street – Whitman Bailey

Artist's Sketch of Masonic Temple on Bedford Street

Complete Newspaper Clipping of October 17, 1925 (PDF)

In 1925, the Masonic Temple was located on Bedford Street across from Spring Street, about where restaurant row is now.  The sketch was done from the then apparently new apartment building on the corner of Bedford and Spring Streets, still standing today.  There seems to be some artistic license though, since the city directory lists the temple at 31 Bedford Street, which is quite a bit further down the street than the apartment building. 

As one can see, lower Bedford Street at the time was still partially residential, at "the edge of the retail district."  Next to the temple can be seen a section of King School, which today is part of the King Low Heywood Thomas School on Newfield Avenue.

The Masonic Temple remained on Bedford Street until 1935.

The next Bedford Street sketch in the collection is of May 14, 1932, looking north from Atlantic Street, with the Ferguson Library at left and the temple further up at right.  Lower Bedford Street has become by then indeed part of the downtown retail district, as Whitman Bailey describes so eloquently and nostalgically in the clipping.  There is also mention of Catharine Aiken and her school.  (In the forefront right at the corner of Atlantic and Broad Streets can be seen a sliver of the Baptist Church, now the site of the Landmark Building. More on the old Baptist Church anon.)

Artist's View of Lower Bedford Street

people were jay-walking then too  …

Complete Newspaper Clipping of May 14, 1932 (PDF)

Unfortunately, our photo archives do not contain any images of this section of Bedford Street for the above time frame.  However, we did find two photos of the Masonic Temple in the Vertical Files, under ORGANIZATIONS/Masonic. 

   
(click to enlarge)

(Reference files Bailey 132.jpg, 133.jpg )
Whitman Bailey Collection

We add the usual warning to the Bailey sketches: "At times, the accompanying vignettes are mostly folklore passed on to Mr. Bailey by residents of the areas where he was sketching.  In those instances he had no way of determining the truth of the story.  Nor have we.  It is presented as a sidelight to the sketch.  Therefore, researchers are cautioned to regard these tales as local color, interesting, thought provoking, but sometimes not entirely factual."