ALBANY -- February 20, 2003 -- Historic Albany Foundation will sponsor its annual fund-raising event, A Moveable Feast, on Saturday, March 8, 2003. The event features a cocktail reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., dinner at architecturally unique or historic private homes throughout Albany, and a dessert reception from 9:30 - 11:00 p.m. 

The upcoming gala evening of fine food and drink celebrates the contributions of the Free and Accepted Masons of New York to our capital city's built environment. The evening begins with a cocktail reception and silent auction at the Masonic Temple on Corning Place.  Guests will then adjourn to historic private homes throughout the city for the main course. The dessert reception will be held at eba Dance Theatre on Hudson Avenue, which was built in 1917 as the Chapter House of the Order of the Eastern Star.

A Moveable Feast gives our guests the opportunity to “go behind the façades” of Albany’s historic buildings - public and private. Participants come from throughout the region to view the amazing architectural heritage of New York's capital city and to enjoy the hospitality of property owners who are caring for wonderful old houses. Most importantly, the evening sustains the commitment of Historic Albany Foundation to preserving history in our midst. 

Tickets for the full evening, including cocktail and dessert receptions and dinner, are $75 per person. For more information or to make a reservation, call the Foundation at 518/465-0876. 

Freemasons first established a lodge in Albany in 1737, and in 1768 a lodge was built on this corner. The present building was erected in 1895-96 to the designs of Albany architects Fuller and Wheeler and incorporated such Italian Renaissance-style elements as rusticated stonework, a loggia with Ionic columns and wide eaves. The entry is flanked by polished columns with orbs and protected by a handsome wrought-iron gate. The bust honors James Ten Eyck, a prominent Albanian and grand master of New York State Masons. Masonry is the oldest fraternity in the world, although no one can claim to know its exact origins. There is evidence that the Masonry we know today probably grew out of the guilds of stonemasons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages. 

Designed by Thomas L. Gleason and built in 1917, this structure served as the Chapter House of the Order of the Eastern Star for 60 years. The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic institution made up primarily of female relatives of Master Masons. Instituted in Albany in 1869, this chapter shared the Order's statement of purpose: "to take good people and through uplifting and elevating associations of love and service, through precept and example, build an Order which is truly dedicated to Charity, Truth and Loving-Kindness." The buff-colored brick building features a large upstairs meeting room, which was long used for children's dancing classes, and is now owned by eba, the only Dance Theater Company in the United States to own and operate an historic theater.