Auditorium
The scenery on the stage of this room, which is used mainly by the Scottish Rite and York Rite degrees, is quite priceless and should have some mention. Originally it hung in the old Temple at First South and Second East Streets. It was painted by a famous scenic artist and the committee was reluctant to part with it. Yet the sizes of the drops were entirely too small for the new stage. It happened that the artist who painted it was alive, although about seventy years old. He was induced to come to Salt Lake to enlarge the sets and to refinish them. About ten to fifteen feet were added to the width and five to ten feet to the height by cutting and splicing in new pieces at the top, at the bottom, sides or center according to the design. Then the new parts were entirely painted, and the old parts touched up or painted over, as was necessary. It is considered a remarkable job and is one of the last works of the artist. Quite remarkable also is the fact that this artist, Thomas G. Moses, who died in 1934, depicted so well the background of the higher Rite degrees, yet he had received the Blue Lodge degrees of Masonry only.