two upper floors were destroyed by fire with damages of $100,000 to $165,000. The organization's paper records were rescued. Several stores located on the first floor suffered water damage, and the firefighters and utility wires were coated in ice from all the water. The cause was a major explosion from a gas leak, which was heard across town like thunder. The most "mourned" loss was the $15,000 pipe organ, installed in 1911, which was reportedly the best in Kansas with an "untold number of combinations and the most satisfactory tone". The disaster prompted discussion of the enlargement of the city fire department. References Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Neoclassical architecture in Kansas Masonic buildings completed in 1927 Buildings and structures in Saline County, Kansas Masonic buildings in Kansas National Register of Historic Places in Saline County, Kansas