I am honored to again be serving on the Indianapolis Masonic Temple Board this year, so it was nice to see Indiana Freemasons' Hall's Egyptian-themed Red Cross Room mentioned in a recent article in the January/February 2009 Indiana Preservationist, the official magazine of the Indiana Historic Landmarks Foundation.
The article, "Architecture Reflects fever for All Things Egyptian" by Paige E. Wassel, discusses the influence of Egyptian motifs on American architecture dating back to Napoleon's military campaign in Egypt in 1798-99, and some of the more notable examples in Indiana. Indianapolis architects Rubush and Hunter designed at least three buildings with Egyptian details that survive in the city: The Madame Walker Theater, the magnificent art deco Circle Tower, and of course our own Freemasons' Hall. While our building doesn't have overt Egyptian details on its exterior, the Red Cross Room is certainly loaded with them.
Also receiving mention is the beautiful Egyptian Room at the Murat Shrine. (Unfortunately, no photos were included of our Masonic buildings in the piece.)
