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Rochester, New York, circa 1906. "Masonic Temple, North Clinton Avenue and Mortimer Street." District headquarters of the Free & Accepted Masons, whose retail tenants include Wunder Tailor, Nusbaum's Lining Store, E.J. Egbert & Co. and Underwood Typewriter. This imposing edifice, completed in 1902, was razed in 1932 to make room for a movie theater parking lot. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
An entire store devoted to fabric for linings?!? The mind boggles...
While we still have specialized fiber stores today ( trimmings, closures, quilting, etc ), I've never heard of a lining store.
A testament I suppose to our ancestors' predilections for petticoats, chemises, drawers, combinations and the like.
The antifixes (I think that's the right term. I mean the small sculptural features along the top of the roof) have a real Cthulhu vibe to my eye.
[Antefixes. See also: acroteria. - Dave]
Archfan, I must have done the same search as you! Badminton, anyone?
A lining store sold wool, silk, and other fabrics used to line women's skirts. They also sold petticoats and other unmentionables.
Also, today I learned that Li-Ning is a line of badminton gear.
How would a photographer get this vantage point? It seems too tall for a ladder, and too close to be from a building across the street. I know they didn't have drones in 1906. Did they?
[For an 8x10 view camera. this is not "too close" to be across the street. - Dave]
Like Bob down below, I's be interested to know what the Lining Store provided linings for. A quick dive into Google didn't help.
The frieze above the column, an allegory for death and mortality, is referred as the "Broken Column".
The Lodge appears to have a good assembly of dependent orders also. On the façade I see symbols for the Scottish Rite, the Knights Templar, the Eastern Star, and the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. I’m not sure what the cornice allegory is about, although it might have to do with Hiram the Widow’s Son. The branch could be the branch of acacia which was supposed to mark his grave.
The brickwork above the cornice seems superfluous at best; the acroteria adorning it even more. Perhaps it conceals the mechanicals for the new-fangled elevators, but a more graceful enclosure could surely have been designed.
Can someone explain the Lining Store? Does it possibly supply Wunder, next door? The window display has certainly caught the attention of the only non-smudgeperson in the photo.
The movie theater parking lot is also gone. Today this location is either a bus station or a parking garage. The loss of this building is a shame. Because of masonic philosophy, their temples are exceptionally well built. There is a recent story of a couple who bought a 90yr+ masonic temple in Huntington, Indiana and are converting it into a private home. The article does not mention any structural problems, plumbing issues, or even a roof leak. Granted, it's challenging to find an alternate purpose for a temple.
This great little building was razed in 1932 to create a parking lot for the new RKO Palace theater next door. Recently, both lots were converted to a bus terminal and numerous items from the old lodge were found 30 feet below street level. Story below.
https://paigedoerner.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/masonic-sculptures-discove...
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