The imposing Norman-style building, constructed between 1868 and 1873, cost a then-staggering $1.6 million. It was designed by prominent architect James H. Windrim and built of Maine granite and Massachusetts syenite - a rock also found in Egypt. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
The building "was meant to impress. It was meant to awe," Zellers-Frederick said. Only two other Masonic temples display such grandeur, one in London and one in Stockholm, he said.
The restoration is being done by DPK&A Architects, which also restored City Council chambers and the Union League.
"There was a lot of damage done to the building when they did the Broad Street subway [1920s], when they did the commuter tunnel on the south side [1980s], when they built the prison, the Criminal Justice Center [1990s], on the other side," said Carl Doebley, a partner at DPK&A.
"In each of those cases they dug down very deep next to the building, and the building moved, and they had to keep underpinning the foundations. So we found a lot more cracks and loose stones and things that we have to repair than you could see from the ground," Doebley said.
The restoration is largely being financed by the Masons of Pennsylvania, who own the building, said Stephen Gardner, grand master of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. About 1 percent - $85,000 - came from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
"The Masons are sort of a very . . . nice breed of people," Gardner said. "In their wills and estates, they leave money to the Grand Lodge."
When the Grand Lodge gave the go-ahead to the restoration in August, it also decided to order a detailed architectural study.
For Doebley, the exterior restoration was the easier project. The second one, a "historic structures report," includes a complete study of the history of the building and a plan for preserving it.
