E97: From Secret Society Myths To Community Events At The Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center

What makes Maureen Burch with Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center a good neighbor? 

Think that grand stone building on Cemetery Lane is off-limits? We open the doors with Maureen Burch from the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center and reveal a community-first venue hiding in plain sight- just seven minutes from downtown, rich in history, and designed for real-world events. From conferences and performances to weddings and milestone celebrations, this space pairs old Pittsburgh character with modern flexibility.

Maureen shares how her nonprofit and education background shaped a mission-driven approach to operations, where rental revenue supports both a large, versatile facility and meaningful philanthropy. We highlight the on-site dyslexia school supported by the Scottish Rite of Pittsburgh- free tutoring for families, offered most weekdays- showing how Freemasonry’s “making good men better” ethos translates into tangible community impact. Along the way, we tackle common myths about Freemasonry and unpack why this is not a private hall or a mausoleum, but a public venue with room to create, connect, and give back.

For planners and teams, the practical details shine: a 500-seat ballroom, a 500-seat auditorium, four lodge rooms for 100–175, and the tech-enabled Grotto for 80. Add a full commercial kitchen and flexible vendor options, and you’ve got a rare setup for keynotes with banquets, performances with receptions, or streamlined corporate off-sites. Because many Masonic and performing groups meet at night and on weekends, daytime availability is wide open- ideal for business conferences and trainings looking for space in the North Hills with quick access to the city.

If you’re ready to rethink venue options in Pittsburgh, this conversation is your guide. Subscribe for more local stories that bridge tradition, service, and smart planning, share this episode with someone scouting a space, and leave a review to help more neighbors find us.

To learn more about Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center go to: 

pghmasoniccenter.com

Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Lila Carter.

SPEAKER_02 (00:13):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of an eventcenter or conference space?
One might be closer than youthink.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
Maureen Birch, with the GreaterPittsburgh Masonic Center.
Maureen, how's it going?
It's going great.
Thanks for having me, Lila.

(00:35):
Thanks for being here.
We're excited to learn all aboutyou and the business.
So please tell us more aboutyour company.

SPEAKER_01 (00:43):
The Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center is an
event space in the North Hillsarea of Pittsburgh.
We're actually in Ross Township.
We're right off of the Perryviewexit on 279.
So we're very centrally located,about seven minutes from
downtown Pittsburgh.
We are an organization that'sowned by a group of Masons.

(01:05):
And the group that is owns theGreater Pittsburgh Masonic
Center is called the MasonicFund Society.
But we do business as an eventcenter, and we're open not just
to Masons for Masonicactivities, but also the public
at large.

SPEAKER_02 (01:20):
Excellent.
And how did you get into thisbusiness, Maureen?

SPEAKER_01 (01:24):
I came the long way.
I came from Illinois.
I was working for the Universityof Illinois in Champaign, Urbana
before I took this position.
I've had a million careers in mylife.
I've been an educator.
I've worked in everything frompre-K to higher education.
I also worked for a lot ofcommunity nonprofits, which are

(01:48):
very similar to the GreaterPittsburgh Masonic Center, is
being run basically as acommunity nonprofit.
So it's most similar to my rolesas far as that goes with event
planning and supporting acommunity nonprofit.
My husband transferred work hereto Cranberry about five years
ago.
He needed to work in person.

(02:09):
So we moved, packed up our livesin Champaign, Urbana, and came
here.
About two months later, thepandemic hit, and he's been
working from our kitchen tableever since.

SPEAKER_02 (02:20):
Wow.
Well, we're happy to have youboth.
So are there any myths or maybemisconceptions in this industry
or that you'd like to discusstoday?

SPEAKER_01 (02:32):
Well, I will say there's a lot of myths and
misconceptions about Masons andFreemasons in general, because
they are, you know, what peoplethink of as a secret society,
but they're not really a secretsociety.
They're a society that has somesecrets that make more sense
when you're involved in thewhole and truths that make more

(02:54):
sense when you're involved intheir ceremonies, rituals, and
processes.
But that folds over into ourevent center as well, because
many, many people don't believethat we are open to the public,
which of course we are, and weactually really strive to be a
community service.
Another misconception I wouldsay, again, with Freemasonry is

(03:17):
that it's strictly about, youknow, bros being bros hanging
together.
And that is a major function ofFreemasonry.
It's making good men better menas their slogan.
And a good part of that involvesmeeting in both ritualistic and
other ways.
But one thing I don't know thateveryone is aware of about

(03:37):
Freemasons is that they are astrong philanthropic
organization.
We strive here to have a zerobudget at the end of each year,
and all of our money that comesin through outside rentals is
either funneled into the actualoversight of this building,
which is about a half a millionsquare acres, or I'm sorry,

(04:00):
square feet.
So it's a quite large facilityand does have a high budget in
terms of you know just buildingupkeep and you know utilities
and all that.
But any other money that webring in or comes into
Freemasonry goes through to thecommunity through many
philanthropic um projects.
One such example is that we havea school for dyslexia here that

(04:24):
the Scottish Right ofPittsburgh, which is one of our
Masonic organizations, um, theypay for all of the teachers and
free tutoring.
It happens almost every weekdayhere from about three o'clock to
eight o'clock.
And there's no charge to thestudents or the families for
those dyslexia services.
So it's a huge contribution thatthe the Freemasons make, both

(04:48):
financially and in support, um,by using this facility.

SPEAKER_02 (04:53):
Excellent.
Yeah, that's such an importantresource for those families, I'm
sure.
Absolutely.
Who are your target customersthen, and how are you currently
attracting them to the center?

SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
Well, um, I guess I should have addressed this a
little bit in themisconceptions.
One of the misconceptions iswe're on cemetery lane and we
are surrounded by cemeteries,and our building is is rather
traditional.
So I think most people, and thisis one of the very most common
things I hear is oh, I've drivenpast your building a hundred

(05:28):
times.
I always assumed you were themausoleum, because our building
architecture does sort of havethat look.
Um, and we were in fact, thisproperty was purchased from one
of the surrounding cemeteries.
Um, at one point, the CatholicChurch did not allow uh
above-ground burials, and sothis ground, which is limestone,

(05:49):
wasn't of much use to them.
So we did purchase it from them.
But we are in fact not amausoleum, we are an event
center.
Um, so that's one of the thingsthat uh is also a misconception.
You asked about our customerbase, was that correct?
Correct.
So our customer base, again,primarily we are here for

(06:09):
Masonic owners and otheraffiliated Masonic groups.
They have their meetings here,and Masonic organizations often
meet as regularly as every weekor once a month, or we have some
that just meet quarterly, oreven one that comes just once a
year.
Um, they have all differentschedules, and that's a big
piece of our um who we are herefor.

(06:33):
But we are also here forcommunity organizations.
Um, the facility has within it aballroom that can occupy up to
500, so it's one of the biggerballrooms in the area.
We also have an auditorium, atheater-like space that also
seats up to 500.
In addition to those spaces, wehave a full commercial kitchen.

(06:55):
We have four large lodge rooms,um, three of which can seat in
sort of like theater in theround type seating, about 100
guests.
And then we have one that iscloser to 175.
And in addition to that, westill have one other room that's
called the Grotto, which is ahigh-tech meeting space that's

(07:18):
set up in table, uh, a tableformation for about 80 people.
So, all told, it's a huge, hugebuilding with um space for
everyone.

SPEAKER_02 (07:30):
That's amazing, and what a great resource for the
community to have an event spacelike that and also the
commercial kitchen that's sounique as well.
Yes, very cool.
Have you ever thought aboutperhaps doing a podcast to reach
the people that you'd like tooccupy the space and to get use

(07:50):
out of it?

SPEAKER_01 (07:52):
We haven't at this time.
Um, I am coming, I've only beenhere for three years, and um the
Masons are an older organizationand um not as technically savvy,
maybe, as we should be.
We're working on that.
Um, podcasts would be a goodoutlet for us to share what we

(08:13):
have to offer to the community.
We're currently updating our webspace, that's sort of our first
priority, and we're hoping thatthat will launch here by
mid-year, hopefully, or by theend of this year.
Um, and once we have that going,then we'll probably expand to
social media.
And we're trying to attract somemore business clientele as well.

(08:34):
We have a huge opportunity here.
Most of our lodges and a lot ofthe performing organizations
that are here are here in theevenings and the weekends.
So we have huge availability fordaytime events for business
conferences or meetings orsmaller community events.
So we're hoping to expand tothose markets, and a podcast

(08:55):
could be an excellent idea.

SPEAKER_02 (08:57):
Absolutely agreed.
So, Maureen, what do you do forfun outside of work?

SPEAKER_01 (09:04):
Well, we just got a not a puppy, but a five-year-old
rescue dog whose name isWinston.
He's a cocker spaniel, or asthey call clinger spaniels,
because they're they're they'revery homebound.
Um, so that's taking a lot of mytime right now.
Also, my husband and I, one ofthe things we really love about
Pittsburgh, um, we came fromIllinois, and Illinois is flat,

(09:27):
totally flat, farmland soybeansflat, um, which has a certain
beauty to it, but of course thehills offer a whole different
beauty.
And one of the things that welike to do in Illinois, but has
a whole different feel here inPittsburgh is bicycling.
Um, we both enjoy doing bothtrail riding and city biking.
And as you know, Pittsburgh hasan incredible biking

(09:51):
infrastructure.
Um, the Petal PGH and otherorganizations have done a really
great advocacy job in thecommunity of creating bikeable
spaces.
So my husband and I really enjoythat.
And we're trying to get Winston.
We're we're hoping Winston willenjoy a doggy follow behind like
a kid carrier.

(10:11):
We'll see.
He might be a little big for abasket.
He's 35 pounds, but um he doeslike to have his ears flop in
the wind, so he might enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 (10:24):
Oh, very cute.
Yeah.
Um, I just love the incline too.
If you want a view of all thehills, just riding up the
incline and seeing the city fromMount Washington is really the
best view that you can get inthe city, I think.

SPEAKER_01 (10:40):
So absolutely.
And since we're still sort oftourists ourselves, when we have
family or friends visit, ofcourse, Mount Washington is one
of our very first visits to givethem that just spectacular view
of the city.
And then we've also foundexploring um the community,
Pittsburgh in particular, bybicycle, has been an excellent
way for us to get to know ourway around.

(11:03):
Um, you see things just on adifferent level on bicycle than
than you do when you're drivingaround in a car.
So it's been really good for us,and we take a lot of our
visitors on those trips too toget them to know the the lake
shore or the the area around thethree rivers and the three river
trails and getting to know thestrip district in those areas.

SPEAKER_02 (11:22):
Yeah, it's so gorgeous, and there's so much to
see and so much culturally inthose areas as well in the strip
that just makes Pittsburgh sucha sentimental place to be.
I'm born and raised here, so Ijust love it down there.
It feels like, you know, just sonostalgic for me.
Yes, yes, absolutely.

(11:43):
So, Maureen, please tell ourlisteners one thing that they
should remember about theGreater Pittsburgh Masonic
Center.

SPEAKER_01 (11:52):
Well, I think they should remember that it's a
place that has a little bit ofeverything and it's a perfect
event planning place.
So, um, you know, events are notone size fits all, and we have a
lot of customizable options hereat the Greater Pittsburgh
Masonic Center.
Um, at least at the moment,there's the possibility.
I mean, we do have preferredvendors, but we are also open to

(12:15):
outside vendors at this time.
Um, so that's one thing that weoffer that a lot of other places
don't offer.
Um, another thing that we offeris the auditorium.
So, you know, if you're lookingto do some sort of an event that
involves both a speaker and aplace to have, you know, a
banquet, or if you're lookingfor a place to do a performance

(12:38):
and then a reception afterwards,um, that's a possibility we have
here that most event centers donot.
Um, and people used to go to alot of the public schools for
those types of things, but umafter COVID, the schools are
just not as open to the publicas they once were.
So um we have a unique nichethere.

SPEAKER_02 (12:58):
Very true.
And is there an on-site eventplanner, or are you currently
outsourcing you are?

SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
That would be me.
Um, yes, I'm the event planner.
I I do the scheduling um and Iwalk people, like I said, there
are no two events, so they'rethe same.
Um, I mean, you can have abirthday party, but every
birthday party is different too,you know, depending on the age,
the size, um, whether you areserving alcohol or not serving

(13:28):
alcohol, whether you'reintending to do a catered meal
or drop-off catering for a meal,or you'd like to just, you know,
get some Sams and Costco traysand do something a little more
simply, but not simply go to apark or have 80 people in your
living room.
Um, and we have spaces, youknow, for as small as 25 or 50,

(13:49):
all the way up to, like I said,we could do a full sit-down
wedding or banquet type thing,you know, with a dance floor and
whatnot for probably up to 350or a cocktail reception vendor
type event for up to 500.
So there's a lot of flexibilitybuilt in.

SPEAKER_02 (14:06):
Very nice.
Wow, that's a whole nother jobin itself.
Coordination, I know a littlebit about it, um, and just even
keeping the timeline.
It seems like there's you know150 touch points for just one
singular event.
So um for being able to wear allthe hats, it seems, um, with

(14:30):
that.
Now, how can our listeners learnmore about the greater
Pittsburgh Masonic Center?

SPEAKER_01 (14:36):
Well, they can find us at the web.
As I said, right now, our webpresence is maybe not as strong
as it should be, but a newwebsite is definitely coming.
And our website is PGH MasonicCenter.
Um, if or if you Google theGreater Pittsburgh Masonic

(14:56):
Center, either one, our websitewill be available to you.
Excellent.
Is that a dot com or a dot orI'm sorry, it's a dot com.

unknown (15:05):
Okay.

SPEAKER_01 (15:06):
Excellent, excellent.
Thanks for clarifying.

SPEAKER_02 (15:09):
Yeah.
Well, Maureen, we very muchappreciate your time today and
having you as a guest on ourshow.
We wish you and the center thebest moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 (15:22):
Well, thank you so much.
I really appreciated theinvitation.
It's always good to speak withfellow Pittsburghers.

SPEAKER_02 (15:28):
Absolutely.
And we're so happy that you'rehere.

SPEAKER_01 (15:31):
Well, thank you.
Thank you so much for having us.

SPEAKER_00 (15:35):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gnppittsburgh.com.
That's gnppittsburgh.com or call412 561 9956.