Scottish Rite Temple sold to Guess jeans co-founders

| July 9, 2013 | 0 Comments
BUILT IN 1960 by Millard Sheets, the building's facade features marble statues and murals.

BUILT IN the 1960s, the building’s facade features marble statues and murals.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Windsor Square has been sold for approximately $8 million to the Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation. The Marcianos founded the GUESS clothing line in 1981; it was one of the first companies to debut designer jeans.

The Foundation intends to rehabilitate the building at 4357 Wilshire Blvd. into a museum for its private art collectors.

Frank Loui, the Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Orient of California, chaired a town hall-style meeting last month to brief members on the fate of the 90,000 square-foot Temple.

He said the new owners plan to maintain the exterior of the four-story building, with its historic murals and statues of mason and founding father George Washington among others made of Italian marble.  The building features an 1,800-seat theater.

It was built in 1960 by Millard Sheets, artist and designer of the murals and buildings for 50 Home Savings of America bank branches for financier Howard F. Ahmanson.

As for the recent sale, $1 million will be going to the national Scottish Rite building in Washington, D.C.  About $1.2 million will pay off debts and the remaining about $5.8 million will be the net to the L.A. Scottish Rite chapter.

Maurice Marciano, the new owner, has served on the board of trustees of the Buckley School. He is currently on the board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Through his career, he has supported a number of non-profit organizations in the field of education, health, art and Jewish organizations through the Maurice Marciano Family Foundation.

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