The Iowa Masonic Library and Museum, located at 813 First Ave. SE, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, is one of the largest Masonic libraries in the world, and incorporates at least three museum collections. The library was the first, world-wide, to have its own building (constructed in 1884). Its current building (constructed in 1955) also houses the administrative offices for the Grand Lodge of Iowa, one of the governing bodies for Freemasonry in Iowa.
The Library had its genesis in the 1840s, with a resolution by the Grand Lodge allocating funds to the Grand Secretary to purchase books on the topic of Freemasonry. In its earliest years the Library was located at the residence of Theodore S. Parvin, the first Grand Librarian, who started it with 5 books purchased for $5. It moved with him from Muscatine to Iowa City, to Davenport, then back to Iowa City where it was maintained until its final transfer to a more permanent home in Cedar Rapids in 1884. It has remained in Cedar Rapids ever since. The Masonic Library is now "reputed to be the largest [Masonic library] in the world, and is at least one of the top five, with over 100,000 volumes. Both Masonic and general books are included in the collections and the library is open to anyone, whether Masons or not."
The extensiveness and public access of the Masonic library is valuable. For example, Professor David Hackett of the University of Florida notes that "a fairly large...public collection of Prince Hall materials can be found at the Iowa Masonic Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa." Likewise, Stephen Kantrowitz of the University of Wisconsin-Madison historian notes "Substantial collections of published black Masonic proceedings (which appear in significant numbers only from the 1870s on), pamphlets, and other publications are available at Masonic libraries, including the National Heritage Museum (Lexington, Mass.), the Livingston Library (New York, N.Y.), and the Iowa Masonic Library (Cedar Falls)."
The library was the location in 2008 of the Masonic Library and Museum Association (MLMA) annual meeting, 80 years after a similar meeting in Cedar Rapids at the original Masonic Library.
The Library includes three museum collections and is open to the public. The museum collections are extensive and include a Masonic collection on the first floor and a Non-Masonic collection on the 2nd floor, consisting of thousands of items. Also there is the Charles H. Swab Memorial collection, donated by deed in 1958.
One of the more interesting artifacts is a Civil War flag, which served as standard for the Iowa regiment in the Battle of Champion Hill, where 97 Iowans were casualties.
In 2008, the Masonic Library became the temporary location of the African American Museum of Iowa, whose building at 55 12th Ave., SE, was flooded in the Iowa flood of 2008.
In 1884 the Library became the first Masonic library in the world to have its own building.
The current building was built in 1955. It cost over a million dollars:"The new building cost a little over $1,000,000. it is constructed of Vermont Marble, with grey marble from Carthage, Missouri, lining the interior halls. Metal work in the windows, doors and stair rails is of bronze. The main portion of the building is over 245 feet long and 50 feet wide, while the library wing at the west end is 113 feet deep."
The front facade includes an inscription from the Bible (Amos 7:7): "Behold the Lord upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand."
The history of the fundraising and planning for the building is extensive.
It is a contributing building in the Grant Wood Cultural District, certified in 2010 by the Iowa State Historical Society.
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