Early Years of Arabia Shrine Temple in Houston
Houston Shriners Started in 1914 at Masonic Temple on Main Street
May 11, 2009
Most Shriners in the Houston area at the time were members of Galveston’s El Mina Temple, which had been chartered in 1902. They held their inaugural meeting as the new Arabia Temple in November, 1915 with more than 800 Nobles in attendance at the Municipal Auditorium. The Arabia Band was the first service unit to be organized under the new name.
Houston’s Arabia Temple During World War I
By the time World War I started in 1917, the Temple held its meetings first at the Bristol Hotel in the 700 block of Travis Street and later at the Levy Building at Main and Capitol Streets. They made frequent contributions to the Red Cross and other war activities. At the close of the war, the Temple had an enrollment of 1,218 Nobles and had set aside approximately $6,000 for charitable work with burned and crippled children.
The Roaring Twenties and Arabia Temple in Houston
In the spring of 1919, Arabia Temple purchased the former First Baptist Church property at the corner of Fannin and Walker Streets in downtown Houston. They paid $71,000 for it, and immediately began renovatations. They also started a crippled children’s clinic at Memorial Hospital on McKinney Street, six blocks away. A baseball team was organized in 1921, and the first Arabia Temple Circus was held in 1922 at the City Auditorium.
By 1925, the Temple had purchased a site just south of downtown, at Main and Anita Streets. They sold the downtown property for $400,000, made a tidy profit, and reached the 4,000 mark in membership that same year. The remaining years of the 1920s brought the first publication of The Arabian in 1927 and the purchase of yet more property for a Mosque, which was built at the corner of Prairie and Austin Streets just before the Great Depression began.
The Great Depression and Arabia Temple in Houston
The Arabia Temple celebrated its 15th anniversary in 1930 amidst widespread financial concern, but they still managed to raise more than $20,000 at their Annual Crippled Children’s Ball. The Shrine Circus was held only twice during those lean years, but the Ball continued every year throughout the Depression and raised money for crippled children. They continued to work with local authorities and collected more than two tons of tinfoil for a project that raised money for clothing for the underprivileged children of Houston.
Since the Mosque building was still fairly new, maintenance costs were not excessive and the Temple was able to make some improvements, especially in the meeting rooms and the bowling alley. The Temple mourned the loss of Illustrious John Bonner, the first Potentate of Arabia Temple, in 1939. By the time the Depression ended, membership had reached more than 3,000 Masons. In the two decades between World Wars, Arabia Temple added nearly 2,000 members to the roster.
World War II Begins in Europe While Arabia Temple Celebrates 25 Years in Houston
Rumors of war were everywhere when the Arabia Temple celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1940. Many Nobles joined the military service and their wives began to knit and sew for the American Red Cross in support of America’s allies. Membership grew in spite of the impending war. Proceeds from the annual Crippled Children’s Ball were invested in War Bonds.
Pearl Harbor Day in 1941 thrust America into World War II and started a new chapter in the history of Arabia Temple in Houston, Texas. Post-war history can be found here.
Source:
A.A.O.N.M.S. Arabia Temple History Book and Directory, Houston, Texas 1977
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