Julius Lansburgh Furniture Co., Inc.


Julius Lansburgh Furniture Co., Inc., also known as the Old Masonic Temple, is an historic building at 901 F Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Penn Quarter neighborhood.

History

The French Renaissance Revival building was designed by Adolf Cluss, and Joseph Wildrich von Kammerhueber in 1867. Construction began in June 1867; the cornerstone was laid in May 1868, by President Andrew Johnson; it was dedicated on March 20, 1870.
The building cost $100,000, but a mansard roof fifth floor, was not completed because of lack of funds. There is a full basement.
First-floor stores were leased, and a grand ballroom on the second-floor was rented out.
Julius Lansburgh purchased the Old Masonic Temple in 1921.
The building was painted white in 1922,
and operated as a furniture store.
After Lansburgh's closed in 1970, it was listed as an historic building in 1974.
In December 1979, the District of Columbia refused to issue a demolition permit in accordance with its historic preservation law.
The building was renovated in 2000, at a cost of $33 million.
It serves as the headquarters of the Gallup Organization.