The next Regular Meeting of Ashlar Lodge, No. 3 will be held on 7 December 2016, 7:30 pm, at the Ashlar Masonic Temple, 101 Commercial Street, Nanaimo.
The meeting will feature a lecture by M.W.B. Stephen Godfrey.
The Installation of 2017 Officers will be held on Saturday, 17 December 2016 at 1 p.m., at the Ashlar Masonic Temple, 101 Commercial Street, Nanaimo. A Dinner will follow at 4 p.m.
Occidental Hotel, 432 Fitzwilliam Street, Nanaimo. Built in 1886. Designed by John Teague, built by Alfred Summerhayes. (Photo: Mark Anderson)
This landmark building is on the City of Nanaimo Heritage Building Register, which describes it as:
“The Occidental Hotel’s value resides in its role as a gateway building. Located at a prominent intersection, the building marks the western entrance to one of Nanaimo’s oldest commercial areas. The angled corner entry mirrors the entry on the building directly across the street and creates a visual funnel, reinforcing the impression of entering a new and distinct space. Tall, imposing and located at a prominent intersection, the Occidental Hotel is a highly visible landmark.
Built in 1886, the Occidental Hotel is very good example of Victorian Italianate architecture, one of the most popular 19th century styles in North America for a wide variety of building types, from houses and small apartment buildings, to commercial and institutional structures. The Occidental Hotel features the vertical proportions and tall, rounded windows and doors typical of this style.
The Occidental Hotel is significant because of its association with prominent Victoria architect John Teague, who came to Victoria in 1862 as an engineer for the Royal Navy at Esquimalt. After designing some of the navy buildings, he went into private practice, designing a wide variety of buildings, from hospitals and churches to business blocks and private homes. Remarkably prolific, Teague designed over 350 buildings and greatly influenced the character of early architecture in Victoria. His buildings include Victoria City Hall, the Freemason’s Meeting Hall, the East Block of St. Ann’s Academy, Scholefield House and the Church of Our Lord.
The substantial and handsome Occidental Hotel speaks to the mood of prosperity and possibility prevalent in the 1880s by the completion of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway and the expansion of the huge No. 1 Coal Mine. Located one block from the train station, the Occidental Hotel was the first business to take advantage of the opportunities the nearby train station provided. Over time, other businesses were established and the area eventually became an important secondary retail district within a predominantly residential neighbourhood. The Occidental Hotel has been in continuous use as an eating and drinking establishment for over 100 years.”
There are two important Masonic events upcoming soon.
First, the Grand Master will be making his Official Visit to District 27, hosted by Chemainus Lodge, No. 114, on Saturday, 14 November, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. There will be a lunch at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Hall in Ladysmith at 12:00 noon. More information is available on the Chemainus Lodge, No.114 website, the Grand Master’s Facebook page and the Grand Master’s Itinerary – note PDF.
Second, the Ashlar Lodge, No.3 Installation of Officers will be held at Ashlar Masonic Temple on 19 December 2015 with lunch at 11 a.m. and tyled Installation ceremony at 1 p.m. All Brethren are welcome to attend.
The next regular meeting of Ashlar Lodge, No.3 will be held on 2 December, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.
Please check our News & Events page for more information.
I’ll post what I find in a later blog post. If anybody else has anything about Masonic history in Nanaimo or wants to do some research, please forward what you find to webmaster@ashlar3.com and I’ll post it here.
W.B. Mark Anderson, 26 October 2015
13 November 2015 Update
WB Tim Findlay and I went to the Nanaimo Archives today and looked up the obituary for John W. Glaholm. It turns out the John W. Glaholm who was involved in the Rawlinson and Glaholm Grocery is, in fact, the John Glaholm who appears in our early Membership Lists. We have updated the website to include these findings and created a page for John William Glaholm.
The new Ashlar Lodge, No.3 website is currently Under Construction but is up and running with some useful information.
Unfortunately there is a minor technical glitch with our domain name pointer, which is pointing to this blog page instead of our Home Page. Until we get this sorted out, please use this link to go to our Ashlar Lodge, No.3 Home Page
Please keep checking back with us as we are regularly adding new information and pages to our website.