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The Pipestone County Historical Society Meets the Ferris Grand Block
Never a Dull Moment
During the winter of 2017-2018 we received quite a bit of snow and by the early spring there was a pile of it in the Commemorative Garden, the area between the Museum Building, the Moore Block and the “L” Building. One afternoon, probably in late April, as the snow pile was rapidly melting, I saw…
The Murals
Two stories in height, the Masonic Lodge Room is the most important space above the main level. The Lodge Room has a rectangular shape; the East and West walls (sidewalls) are longer than the North and South walls. The most important features within the room are the 12 horizontal figurative murals as well as hand…
Plaster Finishes
The original interior surface of the opera house was gypsum plaster decorated with distemper. Whiles the opera house surfaces have been obliterated or covered over in most locations, the original plaster is still evident in the third floor, former balcony area. The salmon colored plaster visible below layers of flaking paint at the north wall…
One of the most striking features of the Ferris is the large murals that adorn the walls of the Masonic Lodge room. These beautiful murals were painted by a German artist, Leo Henke, in 1917. Mr. Henke was not a Mason. He received the inspiration for the murals from a 1903 edition of “The Illustrated History of Freemasonry.” Mr. Henke’s renditions are amazingly accurate to the book. He charged $85 for painting the murals.
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