Lodge 43’s history of the John Bagattin renovations and painting of the ceiling mural of the Old Lodge Room in the Penn Square Market House has been well documented. It has been widely publicized and admired for its artistic significance for decades. Although Lodge 43 dis-continued meeting there in 1972 the room has maintained its artistic beauty thanks to the previous and current owners who recognize the historical significance of the room and maintain its integrity.
There are still some active members of Lodge 43 who fondly remember the privilege of attending meetings in that prestigious room. Members since 1973 may have only taken advantage of the infrequent opportunities to visit the Old Lodge Room, while others can only rely on our written history and photos to refer to its elegance.
Lodge 43 is rich in its history. Even today, almost 240 years since the Lodge was warranted, one can continue to find historical discoveries that relate to the various events that have taken place over the years. Discoveries that previously may not have been identified or brought to light by any past lodge brothers.
Such is the case when Past Master Brett Cook discovered an interesting piece of history related to the planning and decisions of the ceiling mural initial options in the 1932 design planning of the Old Lodge Room.
In 1932 a renovation committee made up of Past Masters and Trustees was tasked with the responsibility to plan for the complete renovation of the Market House Lodge Room. Their objective in their planning was to transform the room into a Masonic work of art highlighted with the symbolism of Freemasonry. Their goal was to make it the admiration of the Lancaster Fraternity, as well as the Lancaster Community as a Masonic showplace.
They conceived of an idea to have a hand painted Masonic Ceiling Mural with defined objectives they wanted to incorporate in the final design. They proceeded to solicit proposals from various artists who were well known for their renovation skills, artistic expertise, and murals experience.
There were two artists who submitted proposals; John Bagattin, who eventually was awarded the contract, and Willam Tiffet Schwarz whose design was considered, but not chosen.
It is the William Tiffet Schwarz unchosen design that Brother Past Master Brett Cook has uncovered historical significance, and the topic of this article.
William Tiffet Schwarz was a well-established artist from the Syracuse, NY area. He was educated at Syracuse University and well established in the trade for his art in creating ceiling and wall murals, on a variety of Americana subjects. There is a William Tiffet Schwarz portrait on display in the Fulton Bank here in Lancaster.
William Schwarz submitted a pencil sketch of his proposed ceiling mural in 1932 along with a handwritten letter detailing the subject matter of the drawing, and the color selection he would apply to the mural. It represented a 15th century depiction of the constellation, astronomy, and the zodiacs.
This hand drawn pencil sketch itself is a work of art, and for decades had been buried away in a storage cabinet in Lodge 43 unknowingly and unseen. It was only recently uncovered and added to our preservation files of historical Lodge 43 materials. This pencil sketch was referenced and displayed in the 2022 article “Masonic Triumphant” which exists on the Lodge 43 website as a blog article.
Past Master Brett Cook recently was referencing information on the Old Lodge Room . When he was Worshipful Master in 2015, he and his wife, a professional photographer, had taken a beautiful professional photo of the ceiling. The photo also appears in the “Masonry Triumphant” article, and Past Master Cook had his lapel pin for his “Year in the East” patterned after it.
Brother Cook upon reading the blog article took note of the Schwarz pencil drawing photograph, and asked if he could see it the original, and have his wife photograph it. He then took his interest a step further and researched William Tiffet Schwarz and his work. It was there that he made a very interesting discovery of his 1932 submitted mural design.
William Tiffet Schwarz although he may have been discouraged at not being selected for the Lodge 43 mural was not to be denied. Being an artist, he surely was proud of his design, and felt it had merit elsewhere.
In 1897 the Onondaga County Savings Bank in Syracuse, NY was built in downtown Syracuse, a 10 story building. The bank was ornated with beautiful sculptures and paintings. It was taken over by OnBank in 1998. At some point in that history of the building, William Tiffet Schwarz was commissioned, and had the opportunity to paint his ceiling design that had been intended for Lodge 43. Also, on display in addition to the ceiling mural were 10 individual wall murals depicting William Schwarz Americana scenes representing different historical events that had occurred in Syracuse’s history.
In 2019 the OnBank Company sold the building to a private group of investors who renovated the entire building into a luxury apartment building known as the Paladian Hall at the Treasury. They extensively renovated and reopened in 2023 with their first residents. The lobby of the building was redesigned to represent a beautiful gala showplace available for receptions, celebrations, and gala social events for the Syracuse community. The room is hi-lighted with the Schwarz ceiling and wall murals. The ceiling mural is one of the main hi-lights of the room along with many sculptured wall designs and Schwarz wall murals.
It is interesting to reflect that the two designs created for the Masonic Fraternity have maintained their significance for the past 80 plus years. Ours, a historical masterpiece that now resides in solitude, underappreciated, except by the Masonic Fraternity, and the William Teffit Schwarz masterpiece which lives on to this day in the Paladian Hall at the Treasury in Syracuse NY, still very much admired by all who have the opportunity to view it.
So Mote It Be!
Nat Gilchrist P.M.