The Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, unique in its category in Spain and with a symbology that places it among the most beautiful in the world, has reopened this Monday after a rehabilitation that represents an act of reconciliation, justice, and reparation of democratic memory.
The reopening of the temple, located on Calle San Lucas in the capital of Tenerife, was attended by the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres; the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo; the head of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila; and the mayor of the capital of Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez.
Minister Ángel Víctor Torres was pleased with the completion of the restoration, which began in 2022 and was led by the architect María Nieves Febles with the participation of the University of La Laguna, and for which the Ministry of Culture has contributed just over three million euros.
"It also means recovering the best of history, of what these walls were, where secular education classes were given in accordance with the Free Institution of Education, where there were places for reflection, for training, and on which, during the Dictatorship, absolutely false accusations were sown," the minister recalled.
During the Franco regime, it was said that rituals with children and black magic were performed in the temple, "all absolutely false in an attempt to discredit the noble work carried out by the Freemasons," Torres continued, before specifying that proceedings will be initiated to declare it a place of democratic memory "and dignify it."
The mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, has praised the recovery of an Asset of Cultural Interest and historical heritage of the city "that had been closed for a very long time."
The building, designed by the architect Manuel de Cámara y Cruz in 1900 and completed four years later, is an example of the architectural projection of Freemasonry with spaces such as the Hall of Meetings, the Chamber of Reflection, and the Hall of the Agape.
Egyptian Inspiration
Its facade, of Egyptian inspiration, features palmiform columns, sphinxes, and the emblematic "all-seeing eye," symbols of knowledge and transcendence and of the dissemination of the ideas of progress advocated by its promoter, the Añaza Lodge, established in 1895 and the most important in the Canary Islands in the 20th century.
Even the building's location is symbolic, as it is aligned in longitude and latitude with other unique buildings around the world, Mayor Bermúdez pointed out.
After the Civil War and during the Franco regime, it was used as a warehouse for medicines and a military pharmacy, which contributed to its preservation.
For its rehabilitation, the architects have had to document all the symbology, consulting with the Masons to understand and respect the construction as much as possible, in the words of the architect María Nieves Febles.
A sabre and a foil
Among the items to be exhibited starting this Monday are an original saber and smallsword from the Añaza Lodge, temporarily ceded by the Military History Museum of the Canary Islands.
In the future, the temple will house a Masonic Interpretation Center, planned for the coming years, and from its opening this Monday it will become "a meeting place between Masons and non-Masons," the mayor has said.
And there are still many things to come, José Manuel Bermúdez continued, since the City Council has asked the Salamanca Archive to transfer all the documentation of Canarian Freemasonry from that time to the Temple.
Almost four million euros
The building's rehabilitation was possible after the City Council of the Tenerife capital purchased the building from the Ministry of Defense in 2001 for around 600,000 euros, and its renovation has cost around 3,200,000 euros, he added.
For the president of the Tenerife Island Council, Rosa Dávila, this amount is not an expense but an investment "in the memory that we must keep alive of spaces that are recovered for history and for free thought."
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has also expressed his satisfaction with the end "of many years of struggle and fighting" to find economic resources and a restoration "faithful to the same conception of this building," and that thanks to the "personal commitment" of Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez, it has been achieved "by combining the efforts of all administrations."
Following its opening, the Masonic Temple will host a temporary exhibition with informative panels and graphic resources about its history, the symbolic keys of Freemasonry, and the rehabilitation process. One-hour tours led by historians and tourist guides will also be offered.
The tour will include the main spaces of the temple and their function within the Masonic ritual: the Hall of Lost Steps, the Meeting Room, the Banquet Hall, the Chapter Room, and the Chamber of Reflection, the latter located in the basement.
