Hastings Masonic Temple listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Image courtesy of Nebraska State Historical Society

Lincoln, NE - 12/17/2024 - The Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office is pleased to announce the addition of the Hastings Masonic Temple to the National Register of Historic Places.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation's inventory of properties deemed worthy of preservation. It is part of a national program to coordinate and support local and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect the nation's historic and archeological resources.

Located in Hastings, Neb., in Adams County, the Hastings Masonic Temple’s inclusion the National Register of Historic Places recognizes its association with events that have made a significant contribution to the history of the United States, local history, social history, and the history of architecture.

Hastings’ first Masonic lodge was organized in 1874, the year the town was platted. The city’s Masonic lodges shared two downtown buildings that predated the listed Masonic temple, one built circa 1887, and its 1913 replacement. A few years later the numerous Masonic organizations formed an association to address their mutual needs, including for a larger complex. In 1918, they selected plans by the Des Moines, Iowa architecture firm Keffer and Jones. Due to World War I, the building was not constructed at that time.

In 1928, the Masonic organizations resumed their planning for a new building, whose design closely resembled that of the Des Moines firm. Construction concluded in 1930. The temple is architecturally significant as a major work of a prominent architecture firm and for its expression of style.