THE GRAND FOYER

The Grand Foyer, located at the top of a short flight of stairs behind the main doors of the Entrance, is the distributing space to all parts of the main floor. It is 20 feet in width and runs across the entire width of the building. It has a paneled, vaulted ceiling embellished with gold leaf ornamentation and rising through two stories to a height of 32 feet above the floor. The Grand Foyer is further enhanced with with more than six tons of Italian marble walls and columns and the remaining walls and ceilings have a classical treatment in Travertine Stone.

Looking south from the entrance (picture at left) along the Grand Foyer, you will see the doors to the Ladies' Lounge immediately on the left. Stairways leading up to the mezzanine and balconies of the Auditorium and down to the basement Promenade are on the right. Directly forward, at the end the Grand Foyer, are the doors leading to the Library. Several display cases in the center and on the left contain Masonic mementos donated to the Library & Museum.

Looking north from the entrance (picture at right) along the Grand Foyer, the entrance to the Scottish Rite Offices is through the doors on the right. Stairways leading up to the mezzanine and balconies of the Auditorium and down to the basement Promenade are on the left. A guest book, signed by visitors to the Library & Museum sits just in front of the entrance to the Auditorium Lobby. Straight ahead, at the end of the Grand Foyer, are doors leading to a room containing several Masonic Collections donated to the Library & Museum by various benefactors.

Among the many decorations and appointments to be found in the Grand Foyer are several finely-crafted tile floor inlays depicting the various symbols of the Scottish Rite Bodies:

Above the entrance from the Grand Foyer into the Auditorium Lobby is a several-hundred-pound solid silver replica of Mount Rushmore, donated to the Library & Museum by Harry Sinco, 33°. The famous landmark depicts Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln.