by this time. Though the building topped out at 2 floors, its walls were reported to be thick enough to support an eventual third floor if needed. In 1894, Church would be removed from the position of postmaster due to what reports called "offensive partisanship" (He would be succeeded by C.C. Filson, who would later found the Filson Company in Seattle). In later years, E.A. Brooks operated the grocery store in the building and lived upstairs with his family. When Brooks had his own building built further down Market Street in 1907 (still standing), he moved his store and the post office into the new quarters. In the 1920s a Mr. Evans operated a variety store in the southern half of the building for a time while the other storefront was used as a band practice space. In the later 20's the ground floor was used for automotive storage. The corner store was later used as a plumbing shop then a cabinet shop. The Masons In 1922, Kirkland Lodge No. 150 of the Free and Accepted Masons of Washington purchased the building for their meeting space, moving from an older wooden building a block away. The Masons remodeled the space by replacing the roof and removing most of the partition walls on the second floor. They rented out their meeting space for use by several other Masonic lodges. When a garage building was built to the north of the Masonic Lodge Building, they used its north wall as a bulkhead, weakening it and necessitating the construction of a retaining wall. Under direction of the Lodge, the basement, rendered useless by time and dampness, was filled with 15,000 yards of pea gravel and capped with a layer of cement that replaced the original floor in 1954. The then vacant store rooms have been occupied ever since. See also Peter Kirk Peter Kirk Building Joshua Sears Building References Kuhn, Lael "King County Historic Sites Survey for the Masonic Lodge Building" Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation 21 November 1977. Retrieved January 10, 2010 History "An Early Settler: Brief Outline of the Life of Postmaster E.M. Church" - The Seattle Times 1890. Retrieved December 31, 2009 [Kirkland Heritage Society] "Some Early Settlers: How S. Foster French and Captain Jay O'Connor helped to develop the finest piece of country in King County" The News (Seattle) 1890. Retrieved December 31, 2009 [Kirkland Heritage