Office of Historic Alexandria City of Alexandria, Virginia

Out of the Attic

The Presidents and the George Washington Masonic Memorial

Alexandria Times, January 28, 2021

Image: President Calvin Coolidge and his wife Grace at the George Washington Masonic Memorial cornerstone ceremony. Library of Congress.

he construction and dedication of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial T brought visits from at least three presidents to Alexandria. Given that it commemorates our nation’s first president, perhaps that comes as no surprise. Since so many presidents have been inducted into the Masons, their visits to the site seem even more natural. The cornerstone ceremony in 1923 featured two presidents. Then-President Calvin Coolidge and First Lady Grace Coolidge attended the event on Nov. 1. Also in attendance was the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court and former President William Howard Taft. As the Richmond Times Dispatch noted, “Coolidge (was) making his first formal trip from the capital since the death of President Harding.” The next day’s edition claimed that: “Surrounded by over 50,000 of the rank and file of American Masonry, Coolidge using the same silver trowel that once felt the hand of George Washington assisted in laying the cornerstone.” Nine years later, in the bicentennial year of Washington’s birth, Coolidge’s successor Herbert Hoover attended the Memorial’s dedication. An interesting trivia fact: While 14 presidents have been Masons, neither Coolidge nor Hoover is counted among them, according to the Grand Lodge of Virginia. Later presidents who were confirmed Masons include Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Gerald Ford. Unlike the collapse of the grandstand under President Rutherford B. Hayes featured in last week’s “Attic,” none of the three presidents associated with the Masonic Memorial events experienced public mishaps in Alexandria.

“Out of the Attic” is published each week in the Alexandria Times newspaper. The column began in September 2007 as “Marking Time” and explored Alexandria’s history through collection items, historical images and architectural representations. Within the first year, it evolved into “Out of the Attic” and featured historical photographs of Alexandria.

These articles appear with the permission of the Alexandria Times and were authored by staff of the Office of Historic Alexandria and invited guests. Office of Historic Alexandria City of Alexandria, Virginia