Prior to the construction of the Grand Lodge of Texas, a freemason-affiliated organization known as the Karem Shriners built the grandiose Karem Shrine Temple at Seventh and Washington. Substantial in size and embellished with Masonic emblems, the building drew in Shriners across Texas and around the country. The Shriners, or the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, originated in New York in the late nineteenth century. The founders, Walter M. Fleming and William J....
