He Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife will reopen its doors in December 2024. A comprehensive rehabilitation of this historic building, begun in 2022, which, almost two years later, will see this building transformed into a visitor center and a museum of Freemasonry of national and international renown. This was announced to DIARIO DE AVISOS by the Councilor for Works and Infrastructure of the capital City Council, Javier Riverowho clarified that “it is not a construction work, it is a work of art.”
The renovation of this architectural jewel of the city, financed with three million euros contributed by the Government of Spain, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Chicharrero City Council, has invested around 1.4 million to dateworks focused on recovering this emblematic space to return it to all its splendor of yesteryear, highlighting its artistic and historical value.
In this sense, the councilor commented that “the work of the construction management, the contractor, and the Foundation of the University of La Laguna is being exemplary, together with the municipal technical part, where we are working to achieve a historic milestone: recover for public property the only Masonic temple of these characteristics in Europe.”
Rivero indicated that the work is progressing at a good pace, since “the service pipes are installed, the roof is finished, even the elevator structure and the air conditioning pipes. Now we begin to dress the pavement and restore exterior carpentry, and even the sphinxes that preside over the entrance to the temple, so characteristic, are already being restored.”
Construction of the Masonic Temple began in 1900 to house the house-temple of the Grand Lodge Añaza. The work was commissioned by the architect Manuel de Cámara, a member of the aforementioned Lodge, and was completed in 1921 after work on the façade. In 2001, the Santa Cruz City Council purchased the property from the Government of Spain and in 2022 funds were obtained for its restoration, thus beginning an almost pharaonic project for its complete restoration.
On January 11, the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree and last of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for Spain, the highest ranking man in Spanish Freemasonry, visited in the company of councilor Javier Rivero and architect María Nieves Febles, the rehabilitation works of the Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz. During his visit, he expressed his satisfaction with the progress of the works, indicating that they follow the established schedule. “The reopening of the temple has become one of the priority objectives for the Masonic community,” he added.
Likewise, he highlighted the uniqueness of this infrastructure as a centuries-old jewel unique in Spain that aspires to become a tourist, cultural and heritage reference for the city, respecting the extraordinary symbology of the construction, such as the eye with radiant rays, located in the tympanum of the facade, representing the Supreme Being.
Among future uses, the intention is recover historical objects from the temple that are currently in Salamanca. In addition, the upper part will house a library, which will require reinforcements in the floor due to the weight of the books. In the lower area, where the most important room with frescoes is located, the University is carrying out the restoration and reinterpretation of the artistic works.
This project not only seeks to restore the physical structure, but also to recreate the atmosphere and historical essence of the temple. The initiative represents a crucial step towards the revitalization and preservation of an invaluable cultural legacy, especially when last year it was recognized as a memory space, being the only one left in the Canary Islands as a vestige of what was the repression of Freemasonry, which It was suppressed in Spain in 1936, so both the building and its assets were seized and transferred to the Spanish Falange.
The book ‘Masonic Temple of Tenerife’ rescues the value of a unique building
The historical and architectural value of the Masonic Temple, declared an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), has been compiled in the book Masonic Temple of Tenerife, by Carlos Pallés, a work that was presented on January 11 at the Municipal Palace and presided over the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, together with Jesús Soriano Carrillo, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree. The author, Carlos Pallés, noted that “in this book, now on sale, it talks about arts, architecture, geometries and memory recovery. “A recognition to those who made possible the construction of a temple, unique in Spain and Europe.”
The first Masonic Lodge, founded in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1816, was made up of prominent members of the society who achieved the capital status of the province. In addition, they taught many poor chicharreros to read and write for free.
