Cultural Hall

Designed to hold large groups, the cultural hall allowed the Saints in Nauvoo to gather physically together. More importantly, the temporal and spiritual intertwined within these walls to help build a strong community.

The cultural hall, also known as the Masonic Hall, was built as a meeting space for Nauvoo’s Freemasons. A building committee was appointed in February 1843, and construction began that summer. Architect William Weeks, who also designed the Nauvoo Temple, provided the plans for the building and Lucius Scovil supervised its construction. The building was dedicated on April 5, 1844, in an elaborate ceremony attended by around five hundred people. From April 1844 to February 1846, the cultural hall served as an important gathering place for the residents of Nauvoo.

While the Freemasons used the third floor of the hall for their meetings, the rest of the cultural hall—the basement and the first two floors—bustled with other activities. Church, business, and civic leaders held meetings, teachers taught school, artists exhibited their work, musicians played concerts, and entertainers performed plays. Before the Saints departed Nauvoo in 1846, the hall provided space to store grain, prepare lumber, and even build wagons.

What to Expect

The Pioneer Life tour begins at the cultural hall. The cultural hall is a four-room guided tour of the first, second, and third floors. The second and third floors are unfurnished. After the tour of the cultural hall, you will walk or drive over to the Lyon Drug Store to continue the Pioneer Life tour.

During the summer and fall, live performances are held inside on the first floor.

360° Walkthrough