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Winthrop House Burned [Boston Masonic Temple]
1864
Maker not marked
USA: Massachusetts, Boston
Photograph on paper mounted on card
Card: 14"h x 11"w; Photograph: 9-5/8"h x 7"w
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.2069

Sepia-tone photograph showing Winthrop House (the Boston Masonic Temple) after the fire of 1864. Winthrop House is on the corner of Boylston and Tremont Streets; the image shows the corner and the damage that was done to the side and back of the building. Much debris is visible on the sidewalks and in the street. Above the front door is a sign reading, "Winthrop House." Some of the window frames and shutters on the front of the building are askew; burn marks are visible around some of the windows. Photo is mounted on gray cardboard.


On April 6, 1864, fire destroyed the Boston Masonic building. The six-story structure housed the Winthrop House hotel on its bottom floors and Freemasons Hall on its top three. All of the hotel guests and Masonic brothers on site escaped safely, but the building and its contents were a total loss, as can be seen in this photograph. For further information, see Newell, Aimee, et.al., "Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection", 2013, p. 256-257.