While celebrating century of history, Abou Ben Adhem Shriners worry over building's future

Driving through downtown Springfield, it's hard to miss the brightly-colored Abou Ben Adhem Shrine, with its arabesque features that stand out from much of the region's architecture.

With construction of the building completed in November 1923, the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine celebrates its 100th anniversary this fall. In addition to being the headquarters of the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners, the venue has housed countless celebrity musicians over the years including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, REO Speedwagon, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Bob Dylan. Former presidents Harry Truman, Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan have also appeared at the venue.

At the time of its construction, the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine was the largest auditorium west of the Mississippi and second largest stage after the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. The shrine is also the only building along Route 66 in Springfield that is being used for the same purpose today that it was built for, according to Abou Ben Adhem Shriners Recorder Sam Montgomery.

To celebrate the building's legacy, the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners are hosting a 100th birthday party for the venue on Saturday, Oct. 21 from 8-11 p.m. Appetizers, cupcakes and a cash bar will be available and the Yachtly Groove Band will provide live music. General admission tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite for $10.

Prior to these activities, the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners are hosting a rededication ceremony for the venue at 6 p.m. Shriner nobles and invited guests may attend the event, followed by a formal dinner at 6 p.m.

It's a 'shrine,' not a 'mosque'

Though the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine looks like a traditional mosque, it isn't one. Yet, Montgomery said shrine staff have received phone calls over the years from folks asking if they can come down to pray because of common confusion.

"We have tried and tried and tried to have this place called the 'Shrine Auditorium,' similar to Los Angeles (Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall)," Montgomery said.

Even though the venue has been popularly dubbed the "Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque" by locals, Montgomery said "mosque" isn't in the building's official name. The venue's official title on its liquor business license is, "Abou Ben Adhem Temple."

If constructed today, the shrine would cost $9 million

The Abou Ben Adhem Shriners, a local chapter of Shriners International, met for almost 20 years before construction was completed on the Springfield shrine. During this time, the organization met in the former Masonic Lodge in downtown Springfield, which now houses Hotel Vandivort. In October 1920 the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners voted in favor of constructing their own auditorium.

The Abou Ben Adhem Shriners purchased the land at the corner of St. Louis Street and Kimbrough Avenue from the Frank Herman Saddlery Company for $20,000 and construction began promptly, according to a brochure printed for the shrine's 50th anniversary in 1973. Recorder Montgomery said at the time, Kimbrough Avenue was just a dirt road.

Springfield architects James Heckenlively and Carl Mark drafted the plans for the shrine's Islamic-style, Moorish architecture, and Springfield contractor John Olsen was hired to construct the building, according to previous News-Leader coverage.

Construction of the shrine was completed Nov. 2, 1923, with a total investment around $520,000, according to a News-Leader story published on Nov. 3, 1923. This would cost more than $9 million today, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For many years, the shrine's auditorium featured wooden seats and the main venue could seat 5,000 people, if chairs were added to the auditorium floor, according to coverage at the time of construction. During renovations conducted in the 1980s, most of the wooden seats were replaced with plastic ones. A few original wooden seats remain on the upper deck of the auditorium but are rarely used. Today, the main auditorium now seats about 3,750, Montgomery said.

The shrine, since its construction, has featured two handcrafted stained glass windows designed by Stanley Uthwatt. One of the windows, which features a caravan of camels, is visible from St. Louis Street. The other is inside the main auditorium. Montgomery said Uthwatt constructed the windows in his house on Harrison Street before installing them in the shrine.

Viewable from Trafficway Street, now considered the rear of the shrine, is the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners symbol, painted largely on top of the building.

"When they built it (the shrine) in 1923, Frisco was in its heyday," Montgomery said. "All the trains were coming and going ... they wanted everybody coming in on the trains to be able to see it."

Imperial officers visit Springfield for dedication ceremony

A dedication ceremony for the Abou Ben Adhem Shrine was held in Springfield on Nov. 3, 1923. Several imperial officers, representing the top ranks in the Shriners organization, were present, including at-the-time Imperial Potentate Conrad Dykeman. The imperial potentate is the highest honor in the organization, serving as the president and CEO of Shriners International. In total, about 8,000 Shriners attended the ceremony, according to a News-Leader story published Nov. 4, 1923.

J.H. Lewis, editor at-the-time of Crescent, a Shriners' publication (now defunct), described the shrine as the "mosque among mosques," according to a Springfield Leader and Press story published on Nov. 5, 1923.

"It is mighty hard to surprise a Shriner, but we were all astounded with the magnitude of the mosque," Lewis told the Springfield Leader and Press. "Little did we dream of seeing anything to compare with the completeness of the structure."

While not present at the shrine's dedication ceremony, two members of the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners chapter have gone on to serve as imperial potentates. George F. Olendorf served from July 1940 to July 1941 and F.T.H. Doubler Jr. served from July 1980 to July 1981, according to 2022 Abou Ben Adhem Potentate Bradley Roam.

Elvis Presley's notable appearance

Rock and roll musician Elvis Presley remains one of the shrine's most notable performers. As part of a variety show, 21-year-old Presley took the shrine stage on May, 17, 1956.

While getting ready in his dressing room before the show, Presley was joined by 10-year-old John Wilkinson, who had snuck his way into the venue. According to legend, as Montgomery described, Wilkinson told Presley he couldn't play the guitar "worth a damn," to which Presley replied, "Then maybe you should show me."

Wilkinson played a few songs for Presley before the show and would end up becoming the musician's rhythm guitarist in the TCB Band in the 1960s.

But before Presley even took the shrine stage, he himself snuck off to the Gillioz Theatre to watch a film. Today, the seat Presley was thought to have sat in is marked with a star.

Decades of hardships, ongoing renovations

Only a few years after the shrine opened its doors, the Great Depression hit and the Shriners lost control of the building in 1941 to its bondholders.

In 1942, the Shriners held a fundraiser to repurchase the building and with help from community members were able to raise the necessary funds. The debt on the shrine was fully paid off on June 15, 1945, according to the 50th anniversary brochure.

By the 1970s, the shrine was falling into disrepair and there was even talk of tearing it down. In 1975, the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners established a nonprofit — the Shrine Mosque Preservation Association — to raise funds for renovations. The renovations, at the time, were estimated to cost around $400,000 (over $1 million today), according to a News-Leader story published on April 20, 1987.

Before renovations began, the shrine was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. This deemed the shrine worthy of preservation by the national government.

Renovations included replacement of the original fabric ceiling and wooden seats, restoration of the arena's hardwood floor, new electrical wiring and installation of new lights in the auditorium's ceiling. The stage's original one-ton switch panel was also replaced with a color-coded system to control stage lights, according to the News-Leader story. Renovations began in 1987 and were completed by 1990.

The Shrine Mosque Preservation Association still exists today and is raising money for further building renovations. During the summer, the association spent about $75,000 restoring the shrine's dome tops, Montgomery said.

The largest and most necessary next-step renovation is the replacement of the building's original steam boilers. Roam said this will cost around $200,000. In the long-term, the association hopes to raise $500,000, Roam said.

Who are the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners?

The Abou Ben Adhem Shriners are a local chapter of Shriners International, a fraternal organization. The chapter — one of 200 in the state — serves much of southwest Missouri.

The first meeting of the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners was in October 1903 at the Baldwin Theater in Kansas City, instituted by officers of the Kansas City-based Ararat Temple, according to the 50th anniversary brochure. In 1906, members voted to create their own Shriners chapter in southwest Missouri.

The Shriners International organization dates back even further.

In the 1870s, two Master Masons, the highest honor in Freemasonary, wanted to create a fraternal organization focused on fellowship and fun.

These Master Masons, Walter Fleming and William Florence (a popular stage actor at the time) were inspired to center the organization around Arabian imagery because of an Arabian-themed party Florence attended and enjoyed in France, according to the Shriners International website. The attire (notably the fez), activities and naming conventions of the Shriners still focus on this imagery.

The first Shriners' meeting was held in 1871 at the Knickerbocker Cottage in New York City, according to the Shriners International website, and a meeting in 1872 established the first chapter, Mecca Shriners.

Since 1922, Shriners International has been dedicated to its philanthropy, Shriners Hospitals for Children, a pediatric sub-specialty healthcare system with locations in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

How do you become a Shriner?

Shriners International is deeply rooted in Freemasonary. In order to become a Shriner, a man (only men are allowed in both organizations) must be a Master Mason.

Men at least 18 years old are eligible to become a Freemason. They also must believe in the existence of a "Supreme Being," have good moral character, be motivated to join for reasons unrelated to personal gain, be prompted by a favorable opinion of the organization and desire to learn about and conform to the fraternity's ancient customs, according to the Freemason website.

As for becoming a Master Mason, a member must undergo three ceremonial stages, which the organization calls "degrees." Each degree represents the stages of human development: youth, manhood and age. This process can take anywhere between three months to three years, depending on the candidate and Masonic Lodge, according to the Freemasons Community website. Details about each degree are not available to non-members.

After becoming a Master Mason, men interested in becoming a Shriner must submit an application to the Shriners International organization. The candidate is then paired with a local "mentor" who serves as a guide through the remainder of the application process.

Once all the submitted information is verified, the candidate is invited to attend the "Ceremonial ceremony" to be initiated into the organization, according to the Shriners International website. New members are inducted twice a year, in June and December.

To stay an active member, men must also pay annual dues to their chapter. Montgomery said in 2024, the Abou Ben Adhem Shriners annual dues will be $135.

A bleak future?

During Shriners International's heyday, each chapter boasted thousands of members. In the 1970s and 1980s, when Montgomery first got involved, there were between 6,000-7,000 Abou Ben Adhem Shriners in southwest Missouri. Today, there are 2,500 local members. Montgomery said the Abou Ben Adhem chapter is ranked No. 10 out of all 200 chapters in Missouri.

"It's a different time," Montgomery said. "People would say, 'Someday, someday I'm going to make enough money so I can become a Shriner.' It was 'the' organization and it still is now, but we're competing with so much else."

As membership is on the decline, the chapter, again, has concerns for the shrine's future.

"It's no secret, we don't know what the future is going to be as our membership continues to drop and our expenses are still there," Montgomery said. "There will be a time, that if the city or somebody doesn't get behind us a little to help this building out ... the doors will literally be locked. Nobody wants to think about it. Hopefully it will never happen and hopefully we can keep up with where we are now."

Day-to-day, it costs about $500 to open the shrine's doors, Montgomery said, which includes expenses like utilities and staff payroll.

Despite local membership declining, Shriners International's membership has grown in 2023. In the first six months of 2023, 85 chapters reported membership growth, according to an organization news release shared in July.

"The last time we know of, that this achievement was confirmed, Bill Clinton was the U.S. President," the news release states.

In an effort to avoid local membership's continual decline, Montgomery said members are "constantly encouraged" to nominate young men to the organization, specifically those who may be "legacies" — sons or son-in-laws of Shriners.

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Abou Ben Adhem Shrine in Springfield celebrates 100th birthday