Architecture & design
George D. Mason
1856–1948 · architect
Long-lived Detroit architect of the Masonic Temple and Mackinac's Grand Hotel, and the early employer of Albert Kahn and Wirt Rowland.
- Born
Syracuse, New York- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 91- Birth name
- George DeWitt Mason
- Also known as
- George DeWitt Mason
- Detroit years
- 1870–1948
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Mason's family moved to Detroit in 1870, when he was a teenager, and he learned architecture in local offices before forming Mason & Rice with Zachariah Rice in 1878. The partnership designed churches, homes and civic buildings across Michigan, including First Presbyterian Church and Trinity Episcopal Church in Detroit and the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island (1887). Young Albert Kahn trained in the Mason & Rice office, and Wirt Rowland later worked for Mason too. On his own and with Kahn, Mason designed the Palms Apartments and the Belle Isle Aquarium (1904). His most famous work came late: the Detroit Yacht Club on Belle Isle (1923) and the enormous Masonic Temple on Temple Street (1926), often described as the largest Masonic building in the world. Active for over sixty years and honored as the dean of Detroit architects, he died in the city in 1948, aged 91, and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery.
Highlights
- Detroit Masonic Temple (1926), one of the largest Masonic buildings in the world
- Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island (1887), with Zachariah Rice
- Belle Isle Aquarium (1904), with Albert Kahn
- Albert Kahn trained in the Mason & Rice office
- Detroit Yacht Club clubhouse on Belle Isle (1923)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 5
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1920–1926
Masonic Temple
His Neo-Gothic giant in the Cass Park area, with theaters, ballrooms and lodge halls; today a busy concert and event venue.
Worked here · 1904
Belle Isle Aquarium
Designed with Albert Kahn; closed in 2005 and reopened by volunteers in 2012.
Worked here · 1923
Detroit Yacht Club
The Mediterranean-style clubhouse he designed on Belle Isle.
Worked here · 1889–1891
First Presbyterian Church (now Ebenezer AME Church)
Romanesque Revival church by Mason & Rice on Woodward Avenue.
Buried here · 1948
Evergreen Cemetery (Detroit)
His burial place.