Lexington history: After 40 year wait, Oleika Shriners Temple opened in 1961
Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history — some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
In 1961, the opening of the Oleika Shriners Temple was big news.
In fact, there was a huge dedication ceremony for the temple’s opening — the end of a nearly 40 year wait for the Shriners of Lexington to find a home. The unique building with its Arabian-inspired façade and tower were one of a kind when they debuted in Lexington on Aug. 5, 1961.
The Shriners, which is a fraternity based on “fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth,” had started their plans to build the temple in 1922. The group purchased the land that is now home to Henry Clay High School and were preparing to build. But it wasn’t long before it became apparent that the city needed a hospital for children with disabilities.
One of the Shriners’ missions is to support children who need medical care, so they pivoted. The Oleika Temple sold its land and built the Shriners’ Children’s Hospital at the corner of Maxwell and Harrison Avenue.
The hospital first opened on Nov. 1, 1926 as a 20-bed wing connected to the children’s ward of Good Samaritan hospital.
Shortly after the hospital opened, it was decided the 20-bed wing wasn’t large enough to treat the number of children in Lexington with orthopedic health concerns. A new, freestanding hospital with 50 beds was built on Richmond Road and opened in 1955.
Several years later, in 1961, the Shriners opened their current temple to much celebration.
In addition to the dedication ceremony, there was a luncheon the day before attended by Marshall Porter, the Shrine Imperial Potentate at the time, who was over all the Shriners in the U.S. The evening of the dedication, some 400 Shriners and their guests enjoyed a buffet dinner followed by music and dancing, as the master of ceremonies, past Lexington Potentate Adolph Rupp, led the crowd.
Oleika is one of nearly 200 temples in several countries and thousands of clubs around the world, the group said.
The unique building on Southland Drive supports the group’s charitable missions and provides a variety of spaces for events including a ballroom with a stage, a meeting room that can accommodate 100 and a dining room that can seat 150 and has a full kitchen. The property also features a one-acre lot with a wooden stage.
Have a question or story idea related to Lexington’s 250-year history? Let us know at 250LexKy@gmail.com.