El Paso Scottish Rite Temple

The El Paso Scottish Rite Temple was  designed by Hubbell and Green of Dallas, Texas and built as an "Early  Revival Style" by the R.E. McKee Construction Company of El Paso.  Construction began in 1921 and was completed in slightly over 2 years.  The original construction cost of the building was $ 350,000.00. Taking  inflation into account that number would now exceed the $4 million mark  in today’s economy, and that would be just for the building itself, not the contents.
 

Herbert Miller Greene (1871–1932), Dallas architect, was born in Huntington, Pennsylvania, in 1871. In 1876 the family moved to Peoria, Illinois, where he received his early schooling.  He subsequently attended the University of Illinois and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in architecture in 1893. He practiced architecture briefly in Peoria before moving to Dallas in 1897. There he operated his own office until 1900, when he formed a partnership with  James P. Hubbell under the name Hubbell and Greene. During the first two decades of the twentieth century Greene produced a large number of important works, including the Dallas News Building, the Scottish Rite Dormitory for Girls in Austin, the Dallas Trust and Savings Bank,  Westminster and Oak Cliff Presbyterian churches in Dallas, Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, the Neiman-Marcus Building in Dallas, and Scottish Rite cathedrals in Dallas, El Paso, San Antonio, and Joplin, Missouri.  Greene was also the Chief Architect at the University of Texas and designed many of the buildings.
 

Greene was the most prolific designer of Scottish Rite Temples in Texas.  His most interesting  exercise in this genre was the El Paso Scottish Rite Temple. The El  Paso Scottish Rite Temple is an almost literal transcription of  architect Paul Philippe Cret’s Pan American Union Building on  Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. built in 1913.

The Pan  American Union Building and Herbert Greene’s gloss on it in El Paso,  exhibit architecture of discreetly modulated forms, which reflect the  functional plan and hierarchy of spaces within the buildings. The El  Paso Temple is monumental without being grandiose.

You entered  the building by ascending 3, 5 and 7 steps, these numbers being of  special significance in the Masonic fraternity.  The Temple is older  than the Plaza Theater, predating it by 7 years, and is the birthplace  of the El Paso Symphony Foundation. 

On Monday , July 24, 2023 at approximately 12:33 am, an act of arson was committed at our El Paso Scottish Rite Temple. Our fire alarm worked as it should and the Fire Department was dispatched. An arsonist broke through a side door on Missouri Street and entered our building carrying two cans of gasoline. He made his way to the lobby and saturated our furniture and floor and set the place ablaze. He broke out through another side door and got away. Our building facade itself was fine, but we had extensive damage to the inside. 

Renovations are ongoing, but we are hopeful to fully restore our beautiful Temple soon.

We have spent many hours on the phone with insurance companies, remediation companies and restoration companies. 

Sadly, we found out that the insurance company will only pay to restore some of our art, replace office equipment and furniture and pay for basic remediation.

There is NO coverage for the restoration of our beautiful floors, walls, and ceilings!

This was through no fault of our own! The Orient of Texas was unable to find any insurance company that would insure any Scottish Rite Building in Texas over 50 years old.

Due to this we are now asking for your help with donations to our Building Fund. ANY donation would be greatly appreciated and may be tax deductible (please consult with your tax advisor).

Donations may be mailed to:

El Paso Scottish Rite Foundation
301 W. Missouri Ave
El Paso, TX 79901

The sentencing hearing for the El Paso  Scottish Rite arsonist has been held - the arsonist pleaded guilty and  the Judge sentenced him to a provisional sentence of 40 years.  

The arsonist will undergo mental health treatment at a Federal facility until he is deemed competent to face his final sentencing on the 40 year sentence. Essentially, it is a holding sentence pending the resolution of his mental health status. Mental health professionals submitted opinions that treatment options for the arsonist are limited and it is possible that his stay at the Federal facility will be long term due to his particular mental defects. 

A restitution hearing will be held at a later date but we are not under any delusion that whatever restitution is awarded will ever be collectible.