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Century-old building to be renovated into an affordable housing unit
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BATON ROUGE - The century-old Prince Hall Masonic Temple will be turned into a mixed-income development with 46 units. It's one of the several projects in the capital area intended to add more affordable housing.
It was built in 1924 and was a work and social spot for the Black community during the 1900s. It housed the Temple Roof Garden and Temple Theater, hot spots for social gatherings in Baton Rouge. Louis Armstrong, B.B. King and Ray Charles were among the musicians who performed there. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
"When you have historic buildings like the Prince Hall Masonic Temple, you know where you are. They really give you a sense of place. There's no other place exactly like that," Executive Director of the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation Brian Davis said.
Over time, water damage and electrical and mechanical issues aided the building's decline, but local chapters still use it for meetings. It was added to the Louisiana Trust for Historic Preservation endangered buildings list in 2019.
"A lot of times, the populations are aging and decreasing. They kind of have a burden of what to do with their lodge halls. Hopefully, the building and the stories associated with it will still be around for many years to come," Davis said.
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