A four-story brick Moorish style theater and meeting hall, built as the meeting place of the Meridian area Shriners organization (Hamasa Temple, of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine [AAONMS]).
From Mississippi Landmark Significance Report, March 6, 2014, by Katherine Anderson, MDAH: The Temple Theater was erected in 1924 by the Hamasa Shriners, but because of a shortage of funds the auditorium was unfinished until the building was leased by the Saenger movie chain in 1927, which completed the interior at a cost of $135,000. In addition to movies (“photo-plays”), the Saenger Temple Theatre also had comedies, news weeklies, reviews, scenics and novelties, including traveling vaudeville shows. At its opening dedication it was called "Mississippi's finest theater" and Meridian became "one of the headlines of progressive large cities in the field of entertainment." The Temple Theater was listed on the National Register on 18 December 1979 as one of several historic properties listed at the same time under the heading of the “Historic Resources of Meridian” or the Meridian Multiple Resource Area (MRA). The building was designated a Mississippi Landmark, at the request of the owners, on 25 April 2014. This building is included in "Buildings of Mississippi" (2020) (pp. 218-219, EM16). |