History
Arcadia Palace Lodge No. 765 was originally charted as Palace Lodge No. 765, on Oct 3rd 1883. Palace Lodge holds a significant placement in the history of the Calumet region, as it originally met and owned the Pullman Masonic Temple in the historic town of Pullman, which was a company town founded by George Pullman, engineer, industrialist, and creator of the famous Pullman sleeping car. Pullman was also a Freemason from N.Y. Many members of Palace Lodge worked for Pullman and were leaders in the industrial movement of the era. The town of Pullman would eventually be annexed into the City of Chicago in 1889, however Palace Lodge No. 765 continued to own and meet in the Masonic Temple from 1908-1973, after which time it was sold to the Pullman Historic Society and today serves as the main office for the Historic Pullman District Foundation.
The Masonic temple that we celebrate today came into existence after the Lansing Square Club was formed to raise the necessary funds to build the temple. Once construction was completed the temple was turned over to Arcadia Lodge No 1138, which had been charted on Oct 4th, 1925. On June 4th, 1967, the cornerstone was laid and temple was dedicated as Arcadia Masonic Temple.
Through the tireless dedication and hard work of several members, including the leadership of the late Right Worshipful Bro. Robert Guntorius, P.M and D.D.G.M, on October 7th, 2016, Arcadia Lodge No. 1138 merged into Palace Lodge No. 765, resulting in the current named lodge, Arcadia Palace Lodge No. 765.
Over the past 134 years our lodge has included many men who are great leaders in both this great fraternity of ours and within the communities in which they serve. This list includes the current Most Worshipful Grand Master of A.F. & A.M of the State of Illinois, Bro. Anthony Cracco. It is in that tradition that our current members look to be shining examples of the best principles that the fraternity represents, in both our lodges and communities alike.
Bernard Davis Jr. - Secretary (2017)