To spot the Hollywood Masonic Temple, just look for the building with six towering stone columns out front and huge red banners that say “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”-it stands right across Hollywood Boulevard, with tall palm trees brushing the sidewalk.
Now, let’s imagine it’s 1922 on Hollywood Boulevard. The air thrums with excitement and the scent of warm stone and cigar smoke. The Hollywood Masonic Temple-this stone giant you see now-has just opened its ornate wooden doors, drawing curious onlookers and the city’s elite. At the top of those eight broad steps, well-dressed Masons in crisp suits stride into the cool, marble-lined halls, ready for an evening in a space with a billiard room, a ladies’ parlor (where gossip probably echoed off the walls), and a ballroom grand enough for a spectacle.
The man behind it all, Charles E. Toberman, was famous for dreaming big-he helped bring us the Hollywood Bowl, the Roosevelt Hotel, and even Grauman’s Chinese Theatre just down the street. His new Masonic Temple was built to last, both sturdy and elegant-those massive Ionic columns you see out front were meant to command respect. And, for a fun twist, it cost $176,678 back in 1922. That would buy you a small Hollywood condo today, if you’re lucky!
The Masons held memorable gatherings here, with pipe organ music filling the auditorium and ballrooms that sparkled under twirling chandeliers. In fact, for the grand opening in 1923, guests witnessed “the evolution of dance,” complete with a performance by dancer Lucille Means. Over the decades, legendary names like Harold Lloyd, John Wayne, and Cecil B. DeMille-yes, even the Hollywood legends needed somewhere mysterious to meet-were members here.
But not all glitz and glamour-the Great Depression hit, and even the Masons weren’t immune to tough times. Imagine the hush in these grand halls as fortunes vanished, and the ground floor was rented out to a social club that (somewhat sneakily) installed an illegal slot machine. By the late 1970s, membership was dwindling, and the old lodge moved out, heading to the Valley, leaving this majestic building searching for a new identity.
It spent a short, dramatic stint as an opera house-opera singers warming up their voices in grand, echoing lobbies-before undergoing a nightclub transformation so bold they even moved the bathrooms to the basement to create more dance floor space. Jazz, disco, and cabaret acts echoed off walls designed for sacred rituals. But nightclubs come and go, and soon this place was left waiting for its next big act.
Then, in the 1990s, Disney spotted the temple’s potential. During the premiere of Toy Story, Disney turned the building into a zany, multimedia funhouse. In 1998, they officially bought the place, restoring its dazzling original features-wrought-iron torchieres, glowing tiles, and stonework good enough for any movie palace.
And so, in 2003, ABC rolled out its own Hollywood magic. "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" premiered, turning this temple into a modern-day stage for laughter, celebrity interviews, and late-night monologues. So when you’re standing out here, you’re in front of a building that started as a temple for secret societies, transformed into a haven for wild nights, and then morphed once again to play host to pop culture and laughter.
For a final bit of Hollywood mystery: Some folks whisper there was once a secret tunnel under Hollywood Boulevard going straight to Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Maybe stars rushed through the darkness to avoid fans-or maybe it’s just another great Tinseltown tale.
No matter which part of its wild history you prefer, the Hollywood Masonic Temple is a reminder that, in this town, even stone and columns can reinvent themselves for the next big act. Now let’s keep strolling-we’re only getting started on Hollywood’s many surprises!
