Free previewStop 5 of Hollywood Walk of Fame Walking Tour: Chinese Theatre to Hollywood and Vine
The Temple That Couldn't Pay Its Bills
You're on Hollywood Boulevard, right next door to the El Capitan, in front of a building that looks like it wandered in from ancient Greece and decided to stay. This is the Hollywood Masonic Temple. Look at the six oversized columns across the front, and the eight stone steps leading up to the heavy wooden doors. Then look up at the top edge of the roof, where a Masonic motto is carved into the stone between two round medallions.
The Masons built this place in 1921, and they built it to impress. The man behind it was Charles Toberman, the lodge master and a real estate developer who also had a hand in the Hollywood Bowl, the Roosevelt Hotel and the Chinese Theatre. Toberman more or less assembled Hollywood Boulevard, and this was his lodge. Inside there was a ballroom, a pipe organ, a billiard room and a ladies' parlor.
That's the opening. The rest plays at stop 5 of Hollywood Walk of Fame Walking Tour: Chinese Theatre to Hollywood and Vine (3 min in all). Unlock the tour to hear it all, or try stop 1 free first.
