More on the Irvington Lodge

When I wrote my previous blog entry I hadn't downloaded the pictures of the Irvington Lodge. I thought I'd enter them separately rather than append them to my previous post. So here they are!

The lodge itself is an odd building. Kind of trapezoidal and positioned off Washington Street (also known as US 40, "The National Road") and Johnson Ave. As far as Masonic Lodges go, it's kind of an ordinary affair - no Egyptian motif or any obvious Masonic hallmarks. Only the plaque on the building identifies it as anything other than a brick apartment building. It was only after I looked at this picture that I noticed the 'For Sale' sign on the building's facade. I'm hoping it stays in hands that will preserve its historic nature and make the room where we danced available to the Indy Senior Center.

Stepping inside of the Irvington Lodge is a lot like stepping into many arts and craft era buildings. The lines are simple and rectilinear. There's an emphasis on showing the craftsman's work rather than hiding it. Inside the double doors you see above is a landing with a staircase leading up to the second floor and the dance hall. It reminded me of something from a Mike Hammer or Sam Spade story - a site that would have been common in the stubbed out neighborhoods the detectives worked. In the thirties this building would have been a senior citizen, tired and decrepit. Over the entryway is a lovely piece of panted glass displaying the address in fading letters. Another lost art, painting glass. I'm not sure how its done in the modern era, I guess computer controlled machines or some other mechanism to exorcise the skill element from the work. No more men in white overalls with a paint brush and dowel to maintain a straight line.

Finally we get to the dance venue itself. The room (at least once) had served as a meeting hall as evidenced by the two Masonic thrones remaining on the stage. I wonder if they're attached to the floor or just remnants of the building's past. I never tested, walking up to the stage and fiddling with things while the band's playing seems a bit like mucking about on the dais while the preacher's in mid sermon. Regardless, they were there and went generally unnoticed by anyone but me. The floor itself was pretty nice. Lovely oak buffed down by a century of foot traffic. A few uneven boards made for tripping hazards but a careful dancer could avoid them easily enough (more easily than they could avoid some of the folks dancing, for certain).

Anyway, that's the sum of my pictures.  I apologize for putting together a photo-album style post, usually I don't like to do that but I wanted to show off the images. Tomorrow we're going to another historic venue and I promise to give you a full report. This time I'll embed the photos within the blog post itself!