Philly’s own ‘Temple of Doom’ has fossils in the floors, stars in the ceiling, and an Egyptian room

As I entered the Masonic Temple in Center City and walked between two sphinx statues guarding the entryway staircase, and over a royal purple carpet featuring Freemasonry’s iconic Square-and-Compasses symbol, I thought: “What’s next? A pyramid with the disembodied Eye of Providence floating on top?”

Alas, it was just the front desk, but that was good too since my husband and I were there to cross a tour of the temple off our Philly bucket list.

There’s no mistaking where you are as soon as you enter the 97,000-square-foot Masonic Temple at 1 N. Broad Street, across from Philadelphia City Hall. There’s more symbolism in here than a Dan Brown novel, more thrones than in Buckingham Palace, and more paintings of old white guys than in the “America’s Presidents” collection at the National Portrait Gallery.

But there are delightfully unexpected quirks too, like a golden turkey sculpture nesting above a door, 66 million-year-old fossils in the floor, and a 17-foot-tall Benjamin Franklin statue that comes with a cloaking device. And you may not think you need to see a stained-glass window of President Theodore Roosevelt wearing an apron, but you do.

It’s hard to say why it took me this long to visit the temple, which is Pennsylvania’s headquarters of the Freemasons, which is said to be the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. For many years, I didn’t realize you could tour the imposing, cathedral-like building, and when I found out it was possible, the mystery of what was inside this enigmatic part of Center City’s landscape felt more intriguing than reality ever could be.

But I’m a journalist and my curiosity for the truth — especially when it comes to Philly — always wins.

In the days following my incognito visit, I spoke with the temple’s executive director, Mike McKee, and learned I only saw about 30% of the building on the public tour.

Does any of that other 70% include secret passageways, I asked him knowingly (because I also asked this question on my tour).

“Between the walls, because of the maintenance and way it was built, there are walkways that are eight feet wide,” McKee said. “Above each of the rooms, there’s rooms between rooms and floors between floors that serve as storage areas.”

And so, the Masonic Temple retains some of its mystery, even after I’ve been inside.

We were joined by 16 others for a 1 p.m. tour, which felt like a healthy group. According to McKee, 12,863 people toured the temple last year, even more than the 11,886 people who took tours of the nearby City Hall.

Our guide was John Hopkins, who told us he previously worked at Christ Church and is not a Mason.

“I only know what I’m allowed to know,” he said.

Now I’m not here to explain Freemasonry to you (Encyclopaedia Britannica describes it as “the largest worldwide secret society”) or the history of Philadelphia’s Masonic Temple (it opened in 1873, making it older than City Hall).

But in simple terms, the Masons are a fraternal organization, so that means men-only (there are a few female and coed lodges, but not here). Members must be at least 18 and believe in a “supreme being,” though it doesn’t matter which one. Prospective Masons must also be of “good moral character” and pass a background check, which includes a home visit, Hopkins said.

Despite the belief-in-a-higher-power requirement, members are not allowed to talk about religion or politics at lodge meetings and they can’t come under the influence of drugs or alcohol, McKee said.

The temple serves as the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania — there are about 70,000 Masons statewide — and 24 lodges meet here, with about 45 meetings taking place a month, McKee said. Lodges are led by a “worshipful master” and grand lodges are overseen by a “grand master.”

Masons discuss issues and have guests, including women, speak on a variety of topics. Charity and community service work also factor heavily into membership.

“The goal of the Masons is to make good men better, to provide an environment where we have decent men who teach younger men how to behave appropriately in society, and teach them about arts and sciences along the way,” McKee said.

Notable Philadelphia Masons include Benjamin Franklin, John Wanamaker, and former Mayor Michael Nutter.

The hourlong tour of the temple takes you down ornate hallways and through seven lodge meeting halls, several of which are elaborately decorated in styles from other cultures, from Greek to Norman.

“Masons try to be better by looking at cultures that came before,” Hopkins said.

“Oriental Hall” (which could use a new name) is modeled after the Alhambra palace in Spain. The ceiling in this room alone is worth the visit. It’s patterned with an intricate, geometric cobweb of gold latticework I felt I might lose myself in if I looked up for too long.

“Egyptian Hall,” with its walls and columns ornately decorated with hieroglyphs and Egyptian art is a crowd favorite, and, according to McKee and Hopkins, all of the decorations are historically accurate.

“We have to come in these rooms at night,” Hopkins said. “It gets freaky. It feels like I’m in the Temple of Doom.”

Some of the elements can feel a bit like cultural appropriation today, particularly in Egyptian Hall, but this is a building from another time, when traveling wasn’t easy, most people’s knowledge of other countries was limited (at best), and there was a burgeoning interest in Egyptian archaeology.

“The grand masters at the time [of the building’s construction] decided to find places that would illustrate the beauty of architecture around the world,” McKee said. “The halls were designed to excite the imagination and hopefully inspire people to come out and learn more.”

Each room has multiple thrones for grand masters and worshipful masters during lodge meetings and guests are encouraged to sit anywhere while guides discuss the spaces. I highly recommend taking a throne seat because when else do you get to do that in life outside of the bathroom?

Even the hallways in this elegant edifice are stunning. In a dim, long one on the second story, stars cut into the ceiling shine overheard where skylights used to be.

And don’t forget to look down. In some black limestone tiles of the checkerboard hallways you can see spiral fossils of shelled cephalopods called ammonites that went extinct 66 million years ago.

I wish we had more time to look at the art in the halls, which included lovely portraits of Franklin and George Washington (also a Mason) and marble sculptures by William Rush, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

The final stop on the tour is the “Grand Ballroom,” which features an impressive 17-foot tall bronze statue of Franklin in his Masonic apron — a ceremonial garb worn in honor of stonemasons of the past — standing atop a three-tiered podium.

Hopkins pointed out a curtain around the top of the statue that can be pulled to cloak Franklin when the room is used for any of the 60-to-100 events held here annually, including weddings.

“Nobody puts Benny in a curtain!” I said, horrified at the thought.

McKee later convinced me it might not be totally sacrilegious though.

“Now we have a Ben reveal,” he said. “After the ceremony is done, Ben comes out to greet everybody for dancing.”

Other features of the ballroom include a golden turkey sculpture above a door frame and four large, stained glass windows of former presidents who were Masons, including Roosevelt, Washington, Harry S. Truman, and Andrew Jackson. Make sure to check out the symbolism on the presidents’ Masonic aprons, including skull-and-crossbones, the Eye of Providence, and coffins.

Even though I can’t become a Mason in Philadelphia — in the year 2025 — I still enjoyed learning more about them and I loved pulling back the veil on this Philly landmark I’ve passed by so many times.