enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Matt Cardente, the broker who is showing the Masonic Temple, and trustee Rob Lind examine the building’s specifications in its auditorium. The building is on the market for $5.25 million.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

Rob Lind, chair of the Masonic trustees, sits in the Scottish Rite reading room during a tour of the Masonic Temple. Trustees had to weigh the cost of maintaining the 62,000-square-foot building against their wider mission, he says.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

The 97-year-old Masonic Temple is considered one of Maine’s most endangered historic buildings.

enlarge John Patriquin/Staff Photographer

An ostrich-plume chapeau, put in a case and stored in a custom-built locker, was part of a Mason’s uniform.

To see more pictures of the Masonic Temple and hear Rob Lind talk about the building's history, click here.

A half-century ago, hundreds of men would enter the side door of an office building in downtown Portland and don uniforms complete with ostrich-plume chapeaus and ceremonial swords.

They might share a meal in a wood-paneled cafeteria that seats 360 people. They would attend meetings in a 4,000-square-foot hall surrounded by Corinthian columns and witness elaborate, ritual performances in an auditorium with 45-foot ceilings and two pipe organs.

Today, the stunning and surprising spaces inside the 97-year-old Masonic Temple remain largely unchanged, although lightly used.

As membership in the Masons dwindles, trustees who own the building have put the 62,000-square-foot fraternal gathering place up for sale. The asking price is $5.25 million.

Potential buyers who have toured this living museum are struck by the level and quality of architectural detail, according to the commercial broker who is showing it. They talk about the potential for hotel, theater and office space, and possible water-view condominiums on the top floor.

Still to be determined is how much of the Masonic Temple's glorious past can be carried into the future, for what preservationists consider one of the most endangered historic properties in Maine.

UNIQUE ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

Freemasons call themselves the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. Their ranks were fuller in 1911, when they commissioned architect Frederick Thompson, whose Portland work also includes the former state armory on Milk Street, to erect a grand meeting place.

Even 20 years ago, more than 36,000 Mainers were members of the brotherhood. Today, there are roughly 21,000, and they are mostly older.

Portland's Masonic Temple is the hub in a network of Maine lodges that numbered 219 in 1955 and have dwindled to 187 today. Some, in Yarmouth, Kennebunk and Farmington, for instance, have been redeveloped.

This trend has been evident for years in larger cities. Temples in Pittsburgh, Providence, R.I., and New Orleans have been turned into a university function hall, hotel and condominiums, respectively.

In Portland, the Masonic Temple at Congress and Chestnut streets is unique in the state, both for its history and its interior architecture.

A case in point is Corinthian Hall, a solemn meeting place graced by 20-foot stained-glass windows, ornate columns and 30-foot-high paneled ceilings. An altar in the center of the room holds a Bible, which contributes to the room's religious aura. The hall was designed for the installation of officers and other important rituals.

"I don't think there's a better room in the state of Maine for our purposes," said Rob Lind, who chairs the Masonic trustees. "All of us feel a sense of stability here. It's dignified. Sobering."

With Lind on this day was Matthew Cardente of Cardente Real Estate. His task is to help a buyer see this grand space in a different light, perhaps as an art gallery, museum or high-end conference room.

Cardente and Lind are discussing the potential for the Masons to retain some of the more significant space after a sale, perhaps through a lease-back arrangement. That would allow the group to receive a financial benefit but not lose all use of the property, which already functions as retail and office space on the Congress Street side.

BALANCING HISTORY, PHILANTHROPY

The sale presents a dilemma for Lind and the Masons. Beyond personal development, Masons are committed to philanthropy. Many people are familiar, for example, with the Shrine Masons, or Shriners, and the network of free children's hospitals they support. In deciding to sell the Masonic Temple, trustees had to weigh the cost of heating and maintaining a massive building that is used infrequently against their wider mission.

"There are rooms I'd hate to give up," Lind said. "It would break my heart. But...