Guest Writer: Jay Krammes
The Masonic Temple Building at 217 South Capitol Avenue was completed in 1924 and stands a few blocks from the Michigan State Capitol. The seven-story structure, designed in the Classical Revival style by Lansing architect Edwyn A. Bowd, was built to bring Lansing’s growing Masonic membership under one downtown roof.
Lansing’s first Masonic lodge was organized in 1849. By the early twentieth century, membership had expanded enough to warrant a larger headquarters. The new temple included lodge rooms, meeting halls, and gathering spaces spread across multiple floors. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and later designated a Michigan State Historic Site.
In 1974, Thomas M. Cooley Law School purchased the building and renovated the interior for academic use. For decades, classrooms, faculty offices, and administrative functions operated in the former lodge halls on Cooley’s Lansing campus.
After enrollment declines led to campus consolidation in the 2010s, the property was put up for sale. In 2021, Lansing-based developer Boji Group acquired the building. City officials later explored relocating municipal offices there, but ultimately decided that its new City Hall will instead be constructed at 425 South Grand Avenue.
More than 100 years after it opened, the Masonic Temple Building remains a steady presence in downtown Lansing. Its exterior looks much as it did in 1924, even as its purpose has shifted over time — from fraternal headquarters to law school campus and whatever the future may bring.
To learn more about the Masonic Temple, visit: Lansing’s first Masonic lodge
