Thirty one Penn’s Village members and guests bravely gathered on a chilly February 1st morning in Center City to tour the Masonic Temple, and quickly proceeded to a warm inviting lounge to comfortably wait for their guide.

Joe, our guide for the morning, made his introductions and led us on our tour. The five spaces we visited represented distinctly different architectural themes including Spanish, Norman, Roman, and Egyptian, and a Great Banquet Hall which was prominently occupied by an immense, bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin, a Mason.

The visually stunning venues provided endless opportunities for our attendees to test Joe’s knowledge on a wide range of related topics. Happily, he was up to the task and impressively responded to each question and commented skillfully and gregariously. His passion for the history and architecture of the Temple, as well as the Free Mason Brotherhood, really enhanced our time together.

Our sixty plus minutes tour came to an end at the John Wanamaker Resource Center. This incredible space serves as a repository for thousands of texts and artifacts relating to the history of the Masonic Fraternity in Pennsylvania and beyond.

Part Two of our successful and enjoyable tour was an optional lunch at the Banana Leaf, a Malaysian Restaurant conveniently located at 1009 Arch Street, an easy 15-minute walk from the Masonic Temple. Our enthusiastic and hungry group of eight received a cordial welcome from the staff. Our servers were pleasant, efficient and accommodating to our requests; our questions related to the extensive menu, as well as recommendations, were professionally answered. Several of our lunch bunch had been in Malaysia and found the food choices to be authentic and delicious. Each entrée was well received, enjoyed and a real value.

A former group of mostly strangers left the charming Malaysian Restaurant as new acquaintances with fond memories of a positive-shared PV experience.