The Irem Temple Restoration Project has taken on the mission of preserving Wilkes-Barre’s 117-year-old Irem Temple. The group aims to restore this historical and architectural marvel of the Wyoming Valley while also transforming it into a mixed-use community event venue for entertainment and social/educational gatherings.
Follow this blog to learn more about the project and how you can become a part of the story.
Irem Temple Restoration Project Receives State Grant
During this season of celebration, we at the Irem Temple Restoration Project (ITRP) are certainly thankful for our recent state financial award. In November, PA Senator Marty Flynn (Lackawanna/Luzerne/Monroe Counties) announced our third $1,000,000 RACP (Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program) grant. Many non-profits compete for financial assistance in a wide variety of grant opportunities, so we feel very fortunate to receive this money.
Since roof repairs and updates have been completed, we look forward to beginning the work on the envelope of the building. That of course includes the iconic minarets. Though one minaret has deteriorated more than the other three, all of the minarets are able to be repaired.
The Start
It may seem odd to the casual observer today to have a building of this design in our Wyoming Valley. How it finally appeared started fifteen years before it was erected. On May 11, 1892, a large group from the Philadelphia LuLu Temple came to Wilkes-Barre to “confer the Order of Nobility” on men wanting to be “Shriners” (Harvey, 23). Those Nobles who wanted to attend large meetings often had to travel to Philadelphia or Reading (Harvey, 23) but now could attend official meetings in their home city. The Elks building in Wilkes-Barré was eventually rented to accommodate the growing number in the organization. Though originally known as Mystic Temple, the Luzerne County Court was petitioned in 1895 to change the name to Irem Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Harvey, 41). Harvey listed the Temple as the ninth largest in membership in the country during that same year (22). It soon became clear that a larger meeting place was needed.
Construction Begins
In 1907, two adjacent plots of land were purchased for a new building on Franklin Street one block from Public Square in Wilkes-Barré. In his book about the Temple, Oscar Jewell Harvey writes architects Frederick Lawrence Olds and Francis Willard Puckey worked with the Moorish theme that included the four minarets. Construction began in September and was completed in the following year. Tony Brooks, local historian, has commented that the building is unique not only to Wilkes-Barre, but unlike any other in the country.
Growing Together
The name Irem comes from a territory or city of the Adites and may refer to a beautiful garden open to many different sights (Harvey, 30). It is fitting, then, that over the decades of its existence thousands of people passed through the Irem doors to enjoy many different kinds of events. And now through grants and donations large and small, the doors will be open once again for the community and those throughout the region and beyond. We look forward to working with the growing number of partnerships we are making throughout the region in order to once again provide a space for events, entertainment, and a new interactive local history museum.
“Harvey, Oscar Jewell. A History of Irem Temple. Wilkes-Barré: Raeder Press, 1907. Print”
