Kansas SR Backdrops Live Again in Minnesota

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota's new Masonic Heritage Center is a true standout among grand lodges in terms of new construction to suit changing times, needs, and demographics. You can seriously count the new, large, modern, multi-purpose Masonic facilities built in the U.S. (or anywhere else) in the last 20 years on one hand: Chicago's and Houston's Scottish Rite Valley buildings, the GL of Maryland's complex, and this one. (Don't get mad if I left yours out. These were all I could think of right now. Remind me.)

Minnesota's has packed a lot into a manageable package. Take for instance their Ives Auditorium. Unlike the bulk of auditoriums built between about 1905 and 1929 that seated 1,000 or more (usually for the Scottish Rite), Minnesota decided to downsize to a more reasonable size that suits the current type of attendance they are getting for large Masonic events. It seats 443.

An article was posted yesterday about their stage and the extensive project they have undertaken to obtain, rescue, preserve, and once again use a set of backdrops from the old Scottish Rite Valley of Fort Scott, Kansas (building closed in 2014). These drops were specifically designed for the Scottish Rite SJ's degrees, and so a Masonic theatre may be the only place on Earth that could properly make use of them ever again for anything more than wedding photos or edgy band performances.

There are more than 70 individual backdrops, hand-painted in 1924 by famed scenic artist Thomas Moses, who worked between about 1909 and maybe 1930. One of his specialties was Masonic and especially Scottish Rite backdrops. The article details the meticulous and ingenious restoration work done by Kimberly L. Lawler and Mia Schillace Nelson, and their army of assistants. (Just where the hell does one go to find a 44-foot long sewing table?)

But this project turned into a huge and expensive undertaking. It wasn't just a case of rolling them up, trucking them north, unpacking them, and rehanging them. I can tell anyone from experience that the simple act of just hanging drops of this size from rigging can be a logistics nightmare, and they are far from lightweight. Complicating the problem was that the architects for the new building and stage designers were given the wrong measurements from Kansas for the length of the Ft. Scott drops when they were first removed and stored, forcing the team to make the tough decision to trim them on each end to fit the rigging system that was already committed to.

They have completed work on 27 of the 70 drops so far, and the work continues. Read about it HERE.

And for much more information than you'll ever want to know about the subject, seek out a copy of the beautiful, informative, and outstanding book, Theatre of the Fraternity: Staging the Ritual Space of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry 1896-1929, which is a lavishly illustrated compilation of six major academic articles primarily directed to the historical staging of Scottish Rite degrees in theatre settings by Kenneth Ames, Will Moore, C. Lance Brockman, Mark C. Carnes, Mary Ann Clawson, and Lawrence Hill. Published in 1996, it's out of print, but still available if you look around.