Malta Lodge moves toward improving building

Eric Kay of the local Mason Malta Lodge #17 has been successful in finding grant money to help them improve their building’s facade. 

The lodge is a 116-year-old building that was built in 1905. The Masons have done many local philanthropic charity events and they seek to do more. 

Kay said they applied first with the Main Street Thermopolis nonprofit organization to see if the lodge could be included in their jurisdiction by expanding their boundaries, but that approach ended up not being successful. 

The second route Kay took was to apply to the National Parks Service and to have the lodge added to the national registry as a historical landmark. This would enable them to be eligible for grants. 

Their status with the national registry is still pending, but because they are farther along the process, they can qualify to apply for grants. Kay and the Masonic Lodge then applied for the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Organization grant and were recently awarded $25,000.

This money would then allow the Lodge to order the materials to fix the front facade. The money has been approved and Kay is waiting for the deposit to get started. 

Kay said, “It’s our goal to bring Malta Lodge into the 21st century so that it can serve the community for at least another 116 years. The Lodge building’s first floor is a great place for community and private events. It just needs some updating. This is the first big step in those updates. The grant is specifically for the front facade only, so that’s where we will start. Being on the National Registry should open up other opportunities for the electric, plumbing, kitchen and the rest of the building.”