Seattle Historical Sites

Summary for 4812 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1702900680 / Inv #

Historic Name: Ark Lodge #126 F&AM Common Name: Columbia Cinema Style: Beaux Arts - Neoclassical, Vernacular Neighborhood: Columbia City Built By: Year Built: 1921   Significance This Masonic hall was built for the Ark Lodge #126 F&AM in 1921. Architect J.L. McCauley designed the building. The Ark Lodge #126 was founded in 1903, receiving its charter from the Home Lodge #100 in Georgetown. Robert Dykeman was the first master. An Eastern Star chapter was formed shortly thereafter. Lodge meetings were originally held at Phalen’s Hall, and later at Fraternity Hall, a building owned by H.H.A. Hastings located on the south side of Ferdinand Street just west of Rainier Avenue. The Heater Glove Company was located on the main floor of the hall from 1921 until 1949. After 1949, the Masons reclaimed the main floor space and renovated it to serve as a dining room and kitchen. The Masonic lodge was sold to a private investor in the 1990s, but members of the Ark Lodge continue to meet at the Delta Masonic Hall in Tukwila, and the Ark Lodge celebrated its centennial in 2003. The Columbia City Cinema opened in the renovated 2nd floor lodge room in 2004. This building is significant as the only extant lodge building in the Columbia City historic district. This building was designed by architect John L. McCauley, who lived in the neighborhood at 3254 S. Edmunds St., and designed XX of buildings in the Columbia City historic district. McCauley was a City Inspector and Engineer in 1908 and later was active as an architect. During the teens and 1920s he was responsible for the design of many residential and commercial buildings, including stores, factories and hotels in Seattle’s International District, Capitol Hill, and the Denny regrade area near Lake Union.   Appearance This two and a half story lodge building is of masonry construction. The building has a rectangular plan and a flat roof with a decorative parapet featuring the Masonic symbol. The building is clad in stucco, horizontal cedar siding and brick veneer. The storefront configuration originally consisted of a central entryway with a transom windows inset into an arch above, flanked on either side by windows with six-light transoms above. The storefront has since been reconfigured; the windows have been partially enclosed with brick siding and the main entrance has been replace with two central inset entrances. The second story fenestration consists of a set of four, two-over-two single hung windows each with two-light fixed pane windows above, flanked on either side by a large four-over-four single hung window with a four-light fixed pane window above. Brick colonnade style piers separate the sets of windows.

Detail for 4812 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1702900680 / Inv #

Status: Yes - Inventory Classication: Building District Status: NR, LR Cladding(s): Brick, Stucco, Wood - Clapboard Foundation(s): Concrete - Poured Roof Type(s): Flat with Parapet Roof Material(s): Asphalt/Composition Building Type: Social - Meeting Hall Plan: Rectangular Structural System: Balloon Frame/Platform Frame No. of Stories: two & ½ Unit Theme(s): Architecture/Landscape Architecture, Social Movements & Organizations Integrity Changes to Windows: Intact Changes to Original Cladding: Intact Storefront: Moderate Changes to Plan: Intact Major Bibliographic References City of Seattle DCLU Microfilm Records. King County Property Record Card (c. 1938-1972), Washington State Archives. Polk's Seattle Directories, 1890-1996. Ochsner, Jeffrey Karl, ed. Shaping Seattle Architecture, A Historical Guide to the Architects. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994. Centennial History, Columbia City, Rainier Valley, 1853-1991, Pioneers of Columbia City. Seattle, Washington, 1992.

Photo collection for 4812 Rainier AVE / Parcel ID 1702900680 / Inv #

Photo taken Mar 22, 2004