Dan Brown's New Novel Set In D.C.
CHETRY: The nation's capital this morning, Washington, D.C. It's not bad there right now. It's 68 degrees, but a little bit later it could be in for showers, 75 for the high. And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Our nation's capital a vacation destination and the monuments to the past presidents, a lot of beautiful things to see.</s>ROBERTS: There certainly is. This morning, though, the city is bracing for a new wave of visitors, and not because of the traditional monuments. They are looking for the lost symbols. And that's all thanks to "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown who is turning his attention now to Washington and the secretive freemasons. Here is Elaine Quijano with more on that.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, there's an unusual building in northwest Washington that's the setting for the opening scene of Dan Brown's new book. It's the headquarters of the Scottish rite of free masonry of the southern jurisdiction of the United States. And we got a chance to take a look inside.</s>QUIJANO: This is the actual room and the ceremonial altar where the startling ritual in the opening scene in Dan Brown's new book "The Lost Symbol" takes place, a secret initiation ceremony inside a building that free masons of the Scottish rite call the house of the temple. But ground historian Arturo De Hoyos says in this case truth is definitely more boring than fiction.</s>ARTURO DE HOYOS, GRAND HISTORIAN, SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY: He has his candidate drinking wine out of a human skull.</s>QUIJANO (on camera): That doesn't take place here?</s>DE HOYOS: I've never seen it.</s>QUIJANO: Any wine drinking at all?</s>DE HOYOS: Not that I'm familiar with.</s>QUIJANO: De Hoyos says this is a formal meeting room where ceremonies do take place. But he explained freemasonry is not a secret, sinister society.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freemasonry is simply the world's oldest and largest fraternity.</s>QUIJANO: After all, George Washington, the most famous freemason, was wearing the ceremonial apron when laying the cornerstone of the capitol. Still, in a town where conspiracy theories flourish, even the book's arrival was shrouded in some mystery. Washington's tourism bureau is fully embracing the novel and all of the attention, even partnering with the publisher to market the book and city with this video.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Discover powerful connections as a D.C. insider. Find your trip to the nation's capital at Washington.org.</s>QUIJANO: Elliott Ferguson is president of Designation</s>D.C. ELLIOTT FERGUSON, DESTINATION D.C.: I think the book exposes its readers to a different perspective of Washington, D.C., going into the neighborhoods itself, also exposing them to the U.S. botanical gardens and the temple on 16th street.</s>QUIJANO: As for the Scottish rite, Arturo De Hoyas is still reading the novel, but says so far, no harm-no foul.</s>DE HOYOS: As long as people understand that it's a work of fiction, I think everybody will enjoy it.</s>QUIJANO: As for tourism, a local trolley company is considering a special tour based on the book, and officials at the Masonic temple, which gets thousands of visitors a year, say they wouldn't be surprised if the number of tourists jumps now that the book is out -- John, Kiran?</s>CHETRY: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Thanks so much.</s>ROBERTS: Continue the conversation on today's top stories. Go to our blog at CNN.com/amfix. That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us, and we'll see you back here again bright and early tomorrow.</s>CHETRY: In the meantime, the news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" now with Heidi Collins.