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The George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria
J.M. Eddins Jr.

The evidence is there on the money. Traces are found in the configuration of the District of Columbia. Their touch is present in the shape of the Washington Monument, the orientation of the Capitol building, and in countless other structures throughout the city. If you look hard enough, Masonic influences are everywhere.

"The Masons were intimately involved in the history of the District of Columbia and in the history of the nation," says artist Peter Waddell, whose paintings are featured in an exhibit currently running at the Octagon on New York Avenue NW, "The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, D.C." The Octagon mounted the exhibit in partnership with the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, D.C.

A July 30 bus tour sponsored by the museum will uncover the Masonic symbolism behind some of Washington's most famous buildings and memorials, from the White House to the FDR Memorial. But if you can't wait until then, a trip to the Octagon is a good place to start. Mr. Waddell's large-scale paintings function both as historical documents and interpretive panels: Here is George Washington laying the cornerstone of the Capitol, which he did in 1793 in full Masonic regalia with due Masonic ceremony. Here are the Scottish and Irish stone workers who helped to build the White House holding a Masonic meeting on the grounds after work has ended for the day. And here is the construction of the Scottish Rite Temple on 16th Street, the most expensive private building of its time, considered the greatest work of architect John Russell Pope in this city.

Don't stop with the exhibit. Once you've been initiated, a trip around town will never be the same. Many neighborhoods can boast their own Masonic hall. Some of them are still used; others are long abandoned. Statues of Latin American revolutionary heroes along Virginia Avenue NW -- Benito Juarez at Virginia and New Hampshire, Simon Bolivar at 18th and C and Virginia, and Jose de San Martin at Virginia and 20th Street -- have one thing in common: All the men they honor were Masons. And a stroll down U Street NW will take you past the hall of the Prince Hall Masons, home to Duke Ellington and Thurgood Marshall. "It's an extraordinary city, full of mystery," says Mr. Waddell, an American citizen originally from New Zealand who, though not himself a Mason, began working on the project about two years ago. "There are many things about the place and design that coincide with Masonic ideals," he said. • • • Coincidence? Well, maybe. But it's hard to ignore the symbolic language embedded in Washington's buildings, statues and memorials.

Most of the city's important buildings were devised by Masons. Architect James Hoban, who designed the White House, was a Mason. Capitol architect Benjamin Latrobe was a Mason. Architect Robert Mills, responsible for the Washington Monument, was a Mason. Cornerstones for all these were laid after elaborate Masonic parades and dedication ceremonies. Masons, who make it a point of principle to "seek the light" at all times, say it's no accident that the Capitol was placed on the Mall's eastern end -- which means people must "look toward the light" when they turn to it from the Mall -- or that the statue of Freedom atop the Capitol dome faces east, toward the light of the rising sun.

"We'll probably never know whether those early Masons spent time in the lodge talking about the symbolism of the city and how it would be realized," says Akram Elias, junior grand warden of the Grand Lodge, Free And Accepted Masons (FAAM) of the District of Columbia, on MacArthur Boulevard NW, who will be leading the bus tour. "But people certainly embraced the ideas and internalized the concepts that were being discussed. It's not unlikely that these would have appeared in other ways." Take the design of the city itself. Opinions differ on whether Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the French architect and engineer who laid out the District in 1791, was a Mason. But for Masons the city's broad avenues and sweeping vistas, its orientations and axes, even its original shape, reflect values they hold close. "It was designed to be a perfect square," Mr. Elias says. "No other capital city was designed with such a purpose" -- that is, to conform to all that is suggested by Masonry's square.

The square -- and with it the compass -- are probably the oldest and most universal symbols of Masonry. In addition to their practical connection to the days when most masons really did work with such tools, they represent two of the central concepts in Masonic thought. They are frequently seen together on Masonic insignia or carved into stone on buildings or grave markers. The square symbolizes the earth and being "grounded" in a way that allows a life led by truth, integrity, honor and other virtues. The compass, with the idea of the individual at its center, symbolizes living a life within bounds, as well as the importance of a spiritual life. Builder's tools like these stress the importance that Masons place on the "spiritual science" of mathematics, particularly geometry. God (the G you'll frequently see within the square and compass symbol) is often referred to as "The Great Geometer."

Along the same lines, Masons prize the work of early Egyptian, Greek and Roman architects not only because of their mastery of mathematics. The all-seeing eye, for example, was frequently seen in Egypt and it is present on the U.S. dollar bill, along with the pyramid that forms part of the Great Seal of the United States. To Masons, the pyramid is associated with builders (Masons talk about building a better self). The fact that this pyramid is unfinished alludes to the still-building nature of the young republic. Like the guilds of old, Freemasonry involves levels of membership with special rites and initiation rituals associated with each one. Men from a wide range of religions can be FAAM members, but they must profess belief in a deity.

The District currently has 36 lodges of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. At Georgetown's Benjamin B. French Lodge, to which Mr. Elias belongs, four "sacred volumes" that reflect the lodge's membership -- the Torah, the Bible, the Koran, and a collection of Buddhist works -- are placed on the altar before meetings. "Masonry helped deepen my understanding of what America is all about," says Mr. Elias, an American citizen by way of Lebanon. "Of course there are always imperfections, always a price to be paid. That's why we see ourselves as builders, because we're constantly trying to improve." Masonry was widespread in America's early years. Fifty-two of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were Masons. So were 90 percent of Revolutionary War generals. Paul Revere and Dr. Joseph Warren, the young physician and patriot leader who died at Bunker Hill, both belonged to St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston. The Sons of Liberty used cryptic signs, passwords and insignia to recognize their membership -- just as the Masons do.

Accordingly, the figure of George Washington holds special meaning for the fraternity. "Washington's sense of responsibility and stress on the individual rights of man were shaped by his association with Freemasonry," says George Seghers, executive director of the George Washington National Masonic Memorial Association in Alexandria. Washington was an active participant in his own Masonic lodge in Alexandria, one of three that had already formed within the federal district. Today, the George Washington National Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, built between 1922-1932, works to commemorate the connection. Patterned after the Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, the George Washington National Masonic Memorial features artifacts related to the first president, a photography exhibit related to its construction and breathtaking views of the surrounding area.

By the time of the early republic, many of the country's leading men were Masons. Masonry among black Americans began in 1775, when the Revolution-era abolitionist Prince Hall and 14 other free blacks were initiated as Masons in Irish Lodge 441, a military lodge near Boston. Prince Hall lodges were established in a number of cities before his death in 1807. Washington got its Prince Hall lodge in 1848. Indeed, Freemasonry was so popular that some of its phraseology even crept into the language of the general population, says Mr. Elias. "We say we want to do things 'fair and square,' try to be 'on the level' and not 'cut corners,'?" he says.

"The term 'blackball' comes from the Masonic tradition of using a black ball to indicate when an applicant has been turned away." Even the presidential oath of office owes a debt to the religious spirit of the Masons, says Mr. Elias. "The original oath did not have 'so help me God'," he explains. "Washington ad-libbed that after sending to the local lodge to get a Bible. It's very similar to the oath of the lodge master." The very success of the Masons eventually led to a decline in their membership in the 1830s and 1840s.

Masonry was increasingly seen as a "fraternity of the privileged," writes historian Richard Hofstadter. There was some justification for this view; 22 out of 24 governorships were held by Masons, for example. Even those who had once supported President Andrew Jackson, a Mason, started mumbling about the excesses of "King Andrew I." At the same time, the revivals associated with the Second Great Awakening of the 1820s and '30s carried immediate, emotional religion across the country, leading many to turn away from the reliance on reason and intellect preached by the Masons.

Everything came to a head with "the Morgan affair," the disappearance in 1826 of a reputed Mason from Batavia, N.Y., William Morgan, who had apparently threatened to expose some of Freemasonry's secrets. A number of Masons were blamed for his kidnapping (no body was ever found), but most got off or were slapped with light sentences. Public outcry swelled once it was found that many of the prosecutors, judges and jurors involved were Masons. Membership in Masonic organizations dipped; many lodges were forced to close; and the Anti-Masonic Party got its start. It was the Anti-Masonic Party that held the first presidential nominating convention, in Baltimore, in 1832. They nominated former Attorney General William Wirt, who may have been a Mason himself, for president. (Wirt received seven votes in the Electoral College in that year's election.)

By mid-century, Freemasonry was reinvigorated, thanks to an infusion of members from the emerging middle class. During the Civil War, soldiers stationed at Fort Reno were welcomed at Masonic meetings held in the home of Jonathan Buckman on Grant Road, writes Judith Beck Helm in "Tenleytown D.C.: Country Village into City Neighborhood" (2000, Tennally Press). Both Union and Confederate soldiers were Masons, says Mr. Elias, who points out that Masons were expected to transcend the demands of petty politics and a particular religion. "The lodge is apolitical," he says. "The beauty and, I think, a great asset is that it brings together people of different persuasions and has them sit down together." President Andrew Johnson, a Mason, helped to dedicate Lot Flannery's statue of Lincoln at Judiciary Square, after a parade that included marchers from the dozens of Masonic lodges in the area. Ulysses S. Grant, who hated Johnson, preferred to remain with the crowd on the street. The keynote speaker for the dedication of the Lincoln statue was Benjamin Brown French, who had known Lincoln personally. Long active in Masonic activities and with a lodge in Georgetown named for him, it was French who allowed a group of Prince Hall Masons to meet on his property before they raised their own hall. French, who died in 1870, is buried in Congressional Cemetery, where a stroll reveals the now familiar square and compass on the graves of both the famous and not-so-famous.

Among the more prominent Masons interred at Congressional are Vice President Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), Choctaw Chief Peter Pitchlynn and Washington's own march king, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932). As a member of Almas Temple of the Scottish Rite, Sousa, like Mozart before him, composed music especially for lodge meetings and ceremonies. One of the more provocative Masons who called Washington home was Albert Pike (1809-1891), a Confederate general and student of Kaballah -- a body of mystical teachings that Masons believe is a source of divine wisdom -- who also was sovereign grand commander of the Supreme Grand Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite in the United States.

Pike, who spoke several languages, led Cherokee troops during the Civil War who were responsible for reported atrocities against Union soldiers. Rumors of connections with the Ku Klux Klan swirled around him for decades. But he has his own statue in Washington at Third and D streets NW, one that depicts him with the goddess of Freemasonry sitting at his feet. Pike's remains are housed at the Scottish Rite Temple at 16th and S streets NW (or the House of the Temple, as Masons themselves refer to it). This building, the headquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction USA, is considered to be the best work architect John Russell Pope produced in the District. Although he was not himself a Mason, Pope -- who also designed the National Gallery, the National Archives and the Jefferson Memorial -- consulted closely with local architect Elliott Woods, who was a Mason. The result is a building rich in imagery and symbolism, as well as a treasure trove of books and artifacts. The building is patterned after the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Masons linked Egyptian, Greek and Roman architecture with the beginnings of the Western architectural tradition, and many of their temples are copies and embellishments of ancient structures. And note the sphinxes out front. They reflect Masonry's embrace of Egyptian design. But look closely and you'll see that one sphinx has its eye open, while the other has its eye half closed. The duo represent Power and Wisdom respectively; power is watchful and alert, but wisdom has time to reflect and go within. The presence of the two also demonstrate the need to strive for balance between these two concepts. Ultimately, though, it is the transformative power of Masonry that makes the movement so compelling today, says Mr. Elias. "The lodge room is really the civil society that the Founders envisioned in microcosm," he says. "The emphasis is on the individual, rule of the people and rule of law. This explains a lot, I think, of the American experiment." Freemasonry in D.C.

Anyone intrigued by Freemasonry's influence on Washington has a wealth of sources to explore: An exhibit of paintings at the Octagon (the museum of the American Architectural Foundation [AAF]) illustrating the Masonic strain in the city's architecture; Octagon gallery talks and museum tours (including a bus tour); other guided tours of Masonic buildings; and free-form meanderings among related sites. Here's a guide. Exhibit and related activities • The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry and the Architecture of Washington, D.C., with Paintings by Peter Waddell: The Octagon, 1799 New York Ave. NW. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. The show runs through Dec. 31. Adults $5, children and seniors $3. Call 202/638-3221

The Initiated Eye: An Introduction: Gallery Talk. The Octagon, 1799 New York Ave. NW. 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Saturdays. Free with museum admission. • The Initiated Eye: A Symbolic Journey: Bus tours. Meet at the corner of 14th and I streets (McPherson Square Metro Station on the Blue/Orange line). 10 a.m.-1 p.m. July 30, Aug. 27. $10 per person. Lunch not included. • Tour of the House of the Temple: At the Scottish Rite Temple (the House of the Temple), 1733 16th St. NW. 10 a.m.-noon Sept. 10.

Admission $7 for AAF members and Freemasons, $10 for the general public. Tour of the George Washington National Memorial: 101 Callahan Drive, Alexandria. 10 a.m.-noon Sept. 17. $7 AAF members and Freemasons, $10 for the general public. Other guided tours The George Washington National Masonic Memorial: 101 Callahan Drive, Alexandria. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. Daily guided tours 9:30 and 11 a.m., 1, 2:15 and 3:30 p.m. Free admission. 703/683-2007

The Scottish Rite Temple (The House of the Temple): 1733 16th St. NW. The headquarters building of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction USA. Tours daily 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Tours last approximately 90 minutes, can be adjusted for time, and are free. Call 202/232-3579 (note the last four digits of the telephone number are all numbers significant to Masons). Masonry on foot Congressional Cemetery: 1801 E St. SE. The cemetery contains the remains of several prominent Masons and one important anti-Mason, William Wirt, the Anti-Masonic Party's candidate for president in 1832. Wirt died in Washington in 1834. A number of indigent members of the fraternity lie in a specially designated section that was purchased by the Masons for that purpose in 1857. The design of the 1906 memorial in this section contains a polished cube, or ashlar, atop a rough one. Office open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday. Gates close at dusk. 202/543-0539

• Masonic Temple: 1250 New York Ave. NW. Designed in 1908 by noted architect Waddy Wood, this building is now the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Carved squares and compasses are still visible on the cornices and inside the building. • Old Masonic Hall: Ninth and F streets NW. Designed by Adolf Cluss, this building dates from 1868 and features Italian Renaissance designs. Between 1921 and the 1970s the building served as the Lansburgh department store's furniture store. After standing abandoned for many years, the building was recently restored. Scottish Rite Temple: 2800 16 St. NW. This temple, north of the House of the Temple, is raised five feet above ground. The 1938-39 building, which is still in use, features bronze doors and concrete and stone mosaics. Singleton Hall: 4441 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Home of the Tenleytown Masons, who built it after World War I and enlarged it in 1926. It is still used as a meeting place.