Two Famous Obelisks with Masonic Significance

by R.W. James T. Watson, Jr.

(from Summer 1993 Trowel of the Grand Lodge of
                Massachusetts)

The obelisks erected on either side of the eastern entrance
of the Temple at Heliopolis in the 16th century, B.C., were
familiar to Moses in his childhood.  Their shadows enabled
the Egyptians to predict seasons and the flooding of the
Nile.  Rulers found them a prominent place to record their
deeds in hieroglyphics, the meanings of which were lost
until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 by an
engineer in Napoleon's army.  These obelisks remained until
the Romans conquered the area, and the emperor re-erected
them on either side of a canal to define the entrance to his
palace.

In 1875, one of the obelisks was given to the British, who
chose the one fallen and buried beneath the sand.  Three
English Masons financed the project.  This shaft was seven
and a half feet square at its base, 68 1/2 feet high and
weighed 186 1/2 tons.  It was encased in a boiler plate
cylinder, christened "Cleopatra" and towed by a seagoing tug
to England.  Six lives were lost before it arrived in London
and erected on a foundation between the Charing Cross and
Waterloo Bridges.  The southern side of the foundation bears
the names of those lost during the voyage.

Three prominent American Masons noticed the standing obelisk
in 1869 at the opening of the Suez Canal.  Wtih $100,000
donated by William H. Vanderbilt, railroad tycoon, richest
man in the world and a Mason, the project was underway.
Brother Henry Gorringe of Anglo-Saxon Lodge #137, Brooklyn,
NY, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, had already
studied how the obelisk could be lowered and moved to
America while he was on duty in the area.  As voluntary head
of this endeavor, his first action in Egypt was to have
ownership transferred to America and our flag flown from the
obelisk.

Equipment capable of lifting the shaft at its center of
weight distribution and bringing it to a horizontal position
40 feet above the sand was installed and cribbing built up
to the height of the turning trunnions, so that the top of
the obelisk would rest on the cribbing when the shaft was
horizontal.  Stacked timber was then built to support the
base, so that the turning equipment could be removed. By
alternately jacking, removing the cribbing and lowering,
the obelisk was lowered to the sand.

A caisson was built to receive the obelisk for towing to
Alexandria where caisson and ship were floated into drydock.
After the water was pumped out, the bowplates were removed,
and the 200-ton stone was positioned into the cavity,
secured, and bowplates re-riveted into place.

Concurrently, Gorringe removed the platform stones to reveal
a sight only a Mason could appreciate.  A group of learned
Masons charted the position of these special stones before
removal.  All of these stones along with the 150-ton
pedestal, upon which the obelisk balanced, and the platform
stones were then loaded into the aft compartment of the
ship.

The voyage began on June 12, 1880, and ended off Staten
Island on July 20th.  The pedestal stone was unloaded at the
51st Street wharf and transported on a low gear pulled by 32
horses, the wheels running over planks to protect the
roadway to Central Park.

At the Masonic Cornerstone Laying Ceremonies, Knight
Templars from 14 New York and New Jersey Commanderies acted
as escort for the Grand Lodge of New York.  In all 9,000
Masons and 30,000 other spectators witnessed the event.

After the ship was beached at Staten Island, the bowplates
were removed and pontoons inserted under the cradle of the
obelisk.  At high tide the obelisk was floated out of the
cavity, pulled 12 miles up the river to 96th Street, keeping
pace with the tide, and secured on shore.

Not until January 5, 1881, was the obelisk ready for
installation on its base.  Having taken 112 days to travel
10,905 feet to the knoll at Central Park, the obelisk was
raised, set upon its pedestal stone and anchored with new
bronze astragals fashioned after the originals used when
erected in 19 B.C.  After the special stones were replaced
exactly as found, the steps were set and the obelisk turned
over to the Central Park Commission.



