The Library and Museum
Free Admission
Guided Tours Daily 9:30am-2:30pm Monday - Friday
To schedule groups larger than 15 people,
contact the Office of the Secretary.
Welcome to the Scottish Rite Cathedral, home of the San Antonio's Scottish Rite library and Museum. As you enter; you pass through two massive doors by famous sculptor Pompeo Coppini, each Weighing 2,500 pounds and proclaiming to the world many elements of our Masonic history.
Entering the Reception Room one is immediately struck by its formal beauty and serenity. The striking decoration of the room and its furnishings are long remembered by visitors, particularly the highly ornate ceiling with its chandeliers, the unusual parquet floor, and the special museum exhibits. Our library has become an important source of Masonic history, ritual and philosophy. Members of the community, visitors to San Antonio, and professional researchers visit the library for genealogical and historical information. Members of many Masonic bodies use the library in the preparation of speeches, papers, and casual reading. It has on display some early editions of Masonic publications available for serious research.
Featured in the Grand Foyer are the four major Scottish Rite emblems, led by the great double-headed eagle inlaid in the center of the floor; and flanked by four 16-foot solid Italian marble columns. These fabulous large sections of Carrara marble seen throughout the Grand Foyer were
shipped in two boat loads from Genoa, Italy. Overhead a splendid vaulted ceiling rises to a height of 32 feet.
The Lodge room depicted is one of four in the Cathedral. This photo is while Brothers practice the 15th Degree, Knight of the East, for the next Reunion. Several Masonic lodges, the Scottish Rite Masonic Bodies, all major York Rite Masonic Bodies, the Grotto, Eastern Star; Job's Daughters, Order of Rainbow for Girls, the Order of DeMolay, and other associated Masonic fraternal organizations meet in the Cathedral. The magnificent auditorium is acclaimed by experts as one of the most acoustically perfect rooms of its size in the world. Constructed as a Greek amphitheater it produces the effect of an open-air theater, the ceiling being equipped with twinkling stars and blazing planets, creating the atmosphere of a clear summer sky. The proscenium, or opening to the stage, is 60 feet wide and 32 feet high. The auditorium seats 2,062.
A major attraction of the Museum is the outstanding M.P. Moller concert organ, which was custom made for our auditorium and stands in the top of its kind in the United States. On either side of the stage is a massive colonnade behind which are concealed the various sections of the organ. Comprised of four manuals and 100 stops, the great organ includes an echo organ high in the auditorium ceiling. In the Hall of Honor on the ground floor will be found the names of almost all the leaders in the history of local Masonry. Look closely and you will find the names of many business, civic and political leaders from the San Antonio area.
Keep searching and you will find a portrait of Brother George Washington in Masonic regalia, a photo of the 13 Masonic Presidents of the United States, photos of the Texas Grand Masters from 1837, and a gigantic copy of the famous painting of Sam Houston, who chaired the organizational meeting of the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas in 1837.
Freemasonry came to San Antonio officially in the mid-1840's with the establishment of Alamo Masonic Lodge 44. Today, over 30 Masonic lodges are located in the commuting areas of San Antonio. Occupying two classrooms in the rear of the Cathedral is the Scottish Rite Learning Center of South Texas, operating under the umbrella of the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. The Center concentrates on helping children with the learning disorder called "Dyslexia" - children who, despite having normal to above average intelligence, cannot learn to read, write or spell without special training. No charge is ever made. At either end of the Hall of Honor will be found displays pertaining to the youth organizations that meet in the Cathedral, each a character and confidence building organization.
The façade of the Cathedral reads:
SPES MEA IN DEO EST
"My Hope is in God"
