Located in downtown Indianapolis, Scottish Rite Cathedral is a historic building that was built between 1927 and 1929. It was constructed to provide the local Freemason community with a venue to host their meetings and ceremonies. To this day, the community continues to use the building as their go-to events space, but it’s now also hosts an array of year-round events including the magical series of Candlelight concerts.
Located just a stones throw from American Legion Mall, Scottish Rite Cathedral is one of the many fabulous architectural triumphs of downtown Indianapolis. You can get the 2, 5, 10 or 39 buses to get here and it’s just a 20-minute walk from the Indianapolis Union Station.
Facts, Curiosities and Interesting Things about Scottish Rite Cathedral
1. A hugely popular Indianapolis venue
According to a poll carried out by Indianapolis Business Journal in 1996, the cathedral is the most popular historic building in the city. In fact, it ranks as the second most popular building in general. Even in the past few years, it’s welcomed around 100,000 visitors through its doors.
2. The Singing Tower takes this place to impressive heights
The building’s architecture is truly breathtaking, but the pièce de résistance is the ‘Singing Tower’ which rises 212 feet into the sky. It’s covered in 12 fleur-de-lis symbols which point to the north, south, west and east to symbolize the universality of the Masonic world. The tower is home to 54 bells that weigh 56,372 pounds between them, and it’s one of the largest bell towers in the country.
3. Stained glass windows shimmer here
On visiting the cathedral, you’ll notice the impressive collection of stained glass windows. Over 100 of these windows can be found in the venue, and they depict images of the liberal arts, science, technology and the three craft lodge degrees of Masonry, among other things. Thanks to their beauty, the windows had a large part to play in the inclusion of the cathedral to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Candlelight concerts at Scottish Rite Cathedral
This season, thousands of twinkling candles will be lighting up this Indianapolis landmark to provide the enchanting setting for this series of Candlelight concerts. Thanks to the soothing sounds of music on strings and the enchanting glow of candlelight, tributes to the likes of Taylor Swift, Adele and Hans Zimmer continue to dazzle audiences in this historic cathedral. And come the spooky season, a haunting evening filled with spellbinding performances of Halloween classics will be enchanting concertgoers in October too.
What else can you do at Scottish Rite Cathedral?
Visitors are welcome to take a guided tour around Scottish Rite Cathedral and take in the stunning architecture and decades of history that this place holds. Tours take place Tuesday through Friday from 10:00am until 2:00pm. Stop by and indulge in a hot cup of coffee at their Double Eagle Cafe and discover all the facts and tales that one of the largest Masonic buildings in the world has to offer.
Indianapolis has a host of impressive buildings in its arsenal, and all are impressive in their own right. From breathtaking architecture to stunning interiors, these buildings including The Cyrus Palace and Black Iris Estate have it all, and many are hosting this series of enchanting Candlelight concerts.