On This Day in 1923 in Alexandria: Laying of the Cornerstone of George Washington Masonic National Memorial

The mayor declared Nov. 1 a holiday in Alexandria 92 years ago. It was a big day on Nov. 1, 1923. Thousands, including President Calvin Coolidge and first lady Grace Coolidge (in second photo), attended the laying of the cornerstone of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Photos taken that day, from the National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress, highlight the big event (Coolidge is at top right in second photo).

Here’s how the memorial came about, according to the memorial Web site:

Land purchased

In 1909, Charles H. Callahan, while Senior Warden of Alexandria-Washington Lodge, purchased several lots on Shuters Hill. He gave them to the Lodge for the site of a fire proof Lodge Hall. Following consultation with and with the urging of the Lodge, Joseph W. Eggleston, the Grand Master of Virginia, invited every Grand Master in the United States to assemble in Alexandria-Washington Lodge on Feb. 22, 1910 for the purpose of forming an association to plan and build a suitable Memorial to George Washington, the Mason.

Representatives from 26 Grand Lodges assembled, approved and endorsed the erection of the Memorial, and The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association was formed. Thomas Shryock, Grand Master of Maryland, was elected the first President of the Memorial Association.

Ten years after the first official meeting of the Association, the concept of a colossal building as a Memorial “lighthouse” to Washington was approved by the Grand Lodges of the United States. The site was selected because it followed the ancient tradition for the location of temples on hilltops or mountains. It was also located on land with which General Washington was familiar; it was the very spot once proposed by Thomas Jefferson as the ideal site for the nation’s Capitol.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 5, 1922.

Laying of the cornerstone

Here’s information about the laying of the cornerstone on Nov. 1, 1923, from articles written by Masonic Magazine and The Washington Post:

The laying of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial’s cornerstone occurred on Nov. 1, 1923. Planners had initially proposed that the cornerstone be laid on Nov. 4, 1923—the 170th anniversary of George Washington’s initiation into Freemasonry, according to Masonic Magazine.

But because Nov. 4 fell on a Sunday in 1923, the ceremony was scheduled for Nov. 1, Masonic Magazine noted. The ceremony almost didn’t happen. A short time before the event, contractors discovered that the cornerstone for the memorial had been cut too small. A new cornerstone was quickly fashioned and completed just in time.

Holiday in Alexandria

Alexandria Mayor William Allen Smoot declared a holiday, and all businesses closed except for banks and the U.S. post office, the Washington Post reported.

The U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Richmond and a U.S. Navy destroyer anchored at the Alexandria torpedo factory as part of the festivities, the Washington Post reported. Trains ran every three minutes into the city of Alexandria in order to accommodate the crowds.

An estimated 14,000 Masons, dignitaries, United States armed forces personnel, police, and others marched in a parade from the Alexandria waterfront to Shooter’s (or Shuter’s) Hill to kick off the event. During the parade, four U.S. Army Air Corps planes circled overhead.

President, dignitaries in attendance

Among the dignitaries present at the 1 p.m. cornerstone-laying event were President Calvin Coolidge, then-Chief Justice of the United States William Howard Taft, Virginia Governor Elbert Lee Trinkle, and Alexandria Mayor Smoot, the Post reported.

Charles H. Callahan was master of ceremonies and the Rt. Rev. James Edward Freeman, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington provided the invocation and benediction.

President Coolidge laid the cornerstone using the same trowel Washington used on Sept. 18, 1783, to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol building (the trowel was owned by the Alexandria-Washington Lodge). Loudspeakers were used to broadcast the speeches of President Coolidge and the other speakers to the crowd, and a temporary radio station (operated by radio station WCAP) was set up on Shooter’s (or Shuter’s) Hill to broadcast the proceedings nationwide.

(Both the loudspeakers and temporary radio station were the same which President Warren G. Harding had used during the laying of the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial.)

Items in cornerstone

Every state deposited an item into the cornerstone, according to the Post article. Other items deposited in the cornerstone were:

• an American flag;
• a bronze medal celebrating the inauguration of Warren G. Harding;
• a bronze plaque containing the names of the architects, consulting architects, landscape architects, engineers, and contractors working on the memorial;
• a bible
• a lambskin apron
• a copy of William Joseph Williams’ 1794 portrait of George Washington in Masonic regalia;
• several books and pamphlets concerning the life of Washington and the history of Freemasonry in America;
• and the names of the board of directors and officers of the GWMNMA.

Beneath the cornerstone was another container, which held several dimes, copies of the Constitution, copies of the Declaration of Independence, books, and other items.

Earlier this year, the memorial was designated a National Historic Landmark.