This is a large, imposing building in the center of downtown Oregon City. The front facade (east) is highly decorated with a series of geometric patterns, of vague Egyptian derivation, scored into the surface of the building. Pilasters (plain on the second floor, fluted on third and fourth) at the corners and on the front of the building provide further decoration and serve to divide the building into three bays, with the central bay equal to the size of the north and south bays together. The building has a parapet wall, the central portion is curvilinear, capped with a simple coping. Directly below the curved portion is "Multnomah Lodge No.1, A.F. & A.M." and the lodge symbol incised into the wall surface. The date 1907 (building constructed) is located below the parapet on the south front; the date of 1846 (the date the lodge was founded) is below the parapet on the north front. The entrance to the upper floors is set off with a rusticated stone archway. Storefronts have been altered, although transoms remain over the north storefront.

Statement of Significance: This building is significant architecturally and as the first Masonic Lodge in Oregon and the oldest lodge west of the Mississippi River. Its height and width make it one of the largest, most visible commercial buildings on Main Street. Although there have been some alterations, it retains a high degree of historic integrity and should be considered eligible as a contributing resource in a historic district. According to research conducted for the 1983 survey, the lodge was formed after an advertisement was placed in the first issue of the Oregon City Spectator in February 1846. A total of seven masons, led by Joseph Hull, P.G. Stewart, and William P. Dougherty, signed a petition to the Grand Lodge of Missouri for a charter for a lodge in Oregon City, to be known as Multnomah Lodge No.1. The charter was granted in 1846, although the document was not sent until 1848. In 1848, the Masons met in the second floor of a log store near the falls. In 1850, Captain Ainsworth was elected the first Worshipful Master in Oregon. The lodge met in various places until constructing their first lodge hall on the southwest corner of Main and 6th Street. They vacated this building when the new building was completed in 1908. (Their earlier building collapsed in 1935 when the lot to the south of it was being excavated for a new building - see survey form for 527 Main.) The Masons used the third floor of the building as the lodge hall and rented the spaces on second and fourth as offices, and the storefronts on the ground level for retail use. Various businesses have occupied the first floor space, including W.R. Runyan, a watchmaker and jeweler (1912}; Bannon & Co. Department Store and Alex Sheirman, a tailor (1916); Simon's Ready to Wear (1936-1947); Portland General Electric (1941 ~1947); Oregon City Photo Shop and Oregon City Printing and Stationery Co. (1953).