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Pillars of Charity Portrait Gallery

Scottish Rite Hall of Honor 

Since 1991, one of the most impressive places on the tour of the House of the Temple has been the Scottish Rite Hall of Honor.  With the Pillars of Charity Alcove, it represents the highest level of recognition possible in the House of the Temple and is thus appropriately titled the “Supreme Temple Architects Hall of Honor.”  The Hall is a wood-paneled, custom-designed curving hall, which follows the line of the Temple’s magnificent rotunda directly above it.  A decade ago, it was simply a first-floor passageway from one side of the Temple to another.  Today, it is a favorite among visiting Brethren, ladies, and their guests because of its 32 original oil portraits of outstanding Scottish Rite Freemasons.  Each portrait is painted by Jean Pilk, a noted artist who has painted official portraits of such prominent Americans as Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and General Colin Powell, now Secretary of State.

In alphabetical order, the portraits in the Hall as of 2004 are Bros. Gene Autry, 33°, G.C.; Arleigh A. Burke, 33°; S. Barry Casey, 33°; George E. Dewese, 32°, K.C.C.H.; Robert L. Dillard, Jr., 33°, G.C.; Robert J. Dole, 33°, G.C.; James H. Doolittle, 33°, G.C.; Sam J. Ervin, Jr., 33°, G.C.; John H. Glenn, Jr., 33°; Sam E. Hilburn, 33°; William Mercer Hollis, 33°; John Edgar Hoover, 33°, G.C.; Burl Ives, 33°, G.C.; Laurance Jones III, 33°; Douglas MacArthur, 33°; Abner V. McCall, 33°, G.C.; Edgar F. Magnin, 33°; Audie Murphy, 32°, K.C.C.H.; Sam Nunn, 33°, G.C.; Arnold D. Palmer, 33°; Norman Vincent Peale, 33°, G.C.; Will Rogers, 32°; Carl J. Sanders, 33°, G.C.; John Philip Sousa, 33° ; Dee A. Strickland, 33°; Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, 33°, G.C.; Harry S. Truman, 33°; Charles E. Webber, 33°; William Jarboe Wohlfarth, 33°; Henry Yaskal, 33°; and Harold L. Gwatney, 33°, G.C.

During the past biennium, seven new portraits have been received into the Hall of Honor, and an appropriate recognition plaque has also been placed in the Pillars of Charity Alcove.  They are: Ill. Bros. John H. Glenn, Jr., 33°, pioneering astronaut; Sam E. Hilburn, 33°, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Grand Treasurer General of the Supreme Council; Laurance Jones III, 33°, investor and philanthropist; William Jarboe Wohlfarth, 33°, entrepreneur and philanthropist; Bro. George E. Dewese, 33°, businessman and benefactor of Radford University; Harold L. Gwatney, 33°, G. C., philanthropist and community leader; and Henry Yaskal, 33°, businessman and philanthropist. The final space in the Hall of Honor has been reserved for someone to be announced.

Since the donation level for all of these later portraits is $1 million or more, the generosity of these donors or their sponsors has had a major and beneficial effect on our two Foundations, the House of the Temple Historic Preservation Foundation, Inc. and the Scottish Rite Foundation, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, Inc.  The first Foundation is crucial to the maintenance of the wonderful building that serves as the Scottish Rite headquarters and as a museum and public library.  The second Foundation continues to benefit our RiteCare centers for childhood language disorders, to provide academic scholarships, and to provide necessary funds for disaster relief.

Once the final portrait is added, the Hall of Honor will be complete. Barbara G. Golden, Esq., Director of Development, and Ill. Thomas M. Boles, 33°, G.C., Philanthropic Advisor, stand ready to assist any potential donors or their sponsors who, through their gifts, would like to benefit the philanthropies of the Scottish Rite.  The Hall of Honor is truly a tribute to Masonry’s finest and America’s best.