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Origin and history

The Masonic Temple of Lille, located at 2 rue Thiers, is a building composed of two adjoining buildings, acquired in 1910 by the lodge La Lumière du Nord (founded in 1893) to become its seat. The architect Albert Baert, member of the lodge, transformed the premises before their inauguration in July 1914. The red brick façade combines classical elements (doric columns, loggia) and Masonic symbols, such as a bas-relief representing a sphinx, a pyramid and a female figure holding a mirror, evoking the Northern Light.

During the First World War, the German occupation turned the ground floor into a military canteen, forcing Freemasons to abandon the site. During the Second World War, the building was seized, destroyed and stripped of its furniture. After 1945, the lodge tried to buy its scattered property, without finding all the rooms. The building, whose façade and Charles Debierre Temple (on the 2nd floor) have been listed as Historic Monuments since 1988, has been renovated between 2008 and 2012.

The interior reveals a strong Egyptian inspiration: the main temple has six pairs of lotiform columns, doors adorned with lunar discs and Hathoric crowns, while the president's armchair has a triangular pediment surmounted by the winged disc d-Horus. The ground floor houses a bar, and two temples (one for 60 people, one for 120) are accessible by wooden stairs. This place, still privately owned, remains an architectural testimony of the philosophical and Masonic currents of the early twentieth century.

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