Walking Tour

Hello,

In spite of light rain and coolness, Leroy and I headed downtown for a walking tour billed as Grand Secret Walking Tour. In the late 19th Century and early 20th Century fraternal organizations were a very important force in Burlington. According to our guide one street had dozens of buildings devoted to their membership. We only saw five of them: Elks, Moose, Eagles, Druids and Masons.

The largest group was the Eagles with 4,200 members. We were not able to go in the building, but at one time it boasted of having “Burlington’s largest bathtub” where members could take their weekly bath.

The Ancient Order of Druids no longer exists and because they were a secret organization not much is known about them, but they started in London.

We were able to go inside an addition to the Elks building that now has a totally new purpose. The owners are trying to restore/preserve it as they use it for a pub with live music presentations.

It seems that in their prime these organizations were the major social outlet for the men of the community. Often there were auxiliary organizations for the women.

We also went inside the Masonic Temple. The members had quite an extensive tour for us. I certainly learned some things about Masons.

Leroy and I were hoping for a little more talk about the architecture of the buildings, but it was nice to learn the time of construction and sometimes the architect.

We were grateful for rain coats and umbrellas. Who invented umbrellas anyway? They should get a pat on the back.

Paula