Scottish Rite House of The Temple — Local services in Washington

Bucket lister (must-see!)

The House of the Temple will be most interesting if you and/or your family are at all involved with the Freemasonic fraternity (Free & Accepted Masons). It will be a mind blower if you have had no preparation for just how integral the organization has been in the world, if even at a lesser measure, as of late. Tours are granted for free to Masons and their families, however there was a $10 fee for non Masons. the tour guides are sweet, informative, pleasant, and rather bright. There is a lot to see, and if you have difficulty with stairs, an elevator is provided. There is just SO MUCH to see, from the iconography, to the architecture, to the museums, the library, it really is an hour to two hours minimum. There is also a gift shop which sells some of the more rare-ish books. Excellent selections there and I could have dropped a house payment in that tiny book store. Bring a camera (I did, as you can see below). If you are a Mason with some semi-disinterested family members/friends, take them to this place, and see if they don't change the tune. It is just awesome. Take a cab there if you can, parking is horrible, but cabbies are flying by all day. Bottom line: They say you should never try to meet your heroes, and to a large extent this place held as much expectation as many of my heroes combined. Reason for this rule of not meeting heroes being that the reality of it is not as grandiose as what you expect. It turned out the rule was not applicable in this particular instance. If you have the desire, the means and the time, do yourself a favor and check it out. The door just swings right in, no knocking necessary. Hope you have a great time!...

Scottish Rite House of the Temple – 5/5 Stars

What an incredible and beautiful building! The architecture alone is worth the visit—majestic, historic, and full of symbolism. I took the guided tour, and it was absolutely amazing. The guide was one of the Masons from the temple, which made the experience even more insightful and authentic.

The library is stunning, with an impressive collection and a peaceful atmosphere. There’s also a small gift shop, but you’ll need to ask for it to be opened.

Best of all, the tour is completely free, making this a must-visit in D.C. for anyone interested in architecture, history, or Freemasonry. Highly...

Went inside this building with a friend last week, as we started the tour I started feeling a bit nauseated. Thinking it was just from the long car ride there, I tried to ignore it. But as the tour went on and we went into the chapel like area, it just got worse. I got this intuitive feeling that I needed to LEAVE. We left the building and started walking towards the park. I thought for sure I was going to get sick but I didn’t. I realized the further that we walked, the better I felt. There is definitely something spiritually dark about that place, that’s all I can say. The only reason I’m giving 5 stars is so more people...