GUTHRIE, Okla. (KFOR) — Traditions and history, no city in Oklahoma has more of it than Guthrie, the former state capitol, and the amazing Masonic Lodge built on the hill where that capitol was supposed to sit.
There is a structure here anyway. Officially, Lodge Number 35, the state's largest Scottish Rites Temple.
Tim Heaton has been the Building Supervisor here for nearly 40 years.
"We designed the building to be a museum of architecture," he says. "The Oklahoma Tourism Board refers to us as Oklahoma's best kept secret."
He knows both its history and its capabilities.
"What do people say when they first walk in," we ask?
Heaton looks up to the vaulted atrium ceiling, "The first thing they say is, 'oh my'."
There are tours conducted here nearly every day, but like a lot of other people who live in Guthrie, Concert Promoter Gary Good had never actually walked through it until he helped organize a fundraiser event here in 2019.
The main auditorium, with its 2 balconies and more than 1,500 seats left an indelible mark.
"When I stood on the stage to introduce people and looked out on this amazing theater, it never left me," he states.
Constructed when the Masons were flush with members and oil money, they modeled it after the Italian Rennaissance.
They made it ready for the one-act plays members came to see, but they also opened it to the public.
"This is our home," insists Heaton, "but it's also a home we share."
When Good approached city fathers about kicking off the annual Territorial Christmas Celebration with a concert, he already knew where to hold it, inside what many consider Oklahoma's grandest theater.
"You had this place sitting here as a jewel in the crown waiting for you," we offer?
"Absolutely," he replies. "There's nothing else like it."
The secret, it seems, to starting a new tradition is connecting it with something that's been around for a long time.
For ticket information on the 1st Annual Guthrie Christmas Concert, go to garygood.com/gatlin.
For more information on the Masonic Temple, go to guthriescottishrite.org.
