How a cargo brig became a vessel of transformation: the story of the USS Advance, the Grinnell Expeditions, and the enduring themes of discipline, ordeal, and brotherhood.

A history of Advance Lodge No. 635 in Astoria, Queens—its founding, endurance through hardship, and the legacy that lives on in the Advance Masonic Temple.

In 1867, twenty-two Masons in Astoria founded Advance Lodge to bring fellowship closer to home. Their charter reveals a rising village shaped by waterfront work, immigration, civic ambition, and the enduring belief that brotherhood should be built where life is lived.

Founded in 1873 in old Newtown, Mizpah Lodge No. 738 grew alongside Elmhurst itself, preserving ritual, memory, and continuity as a rural Queens village became a modern urban neighborhood.

Founded in 1865 at Hunter’s Point, Island City Lodge No. 586 grew alongside Long Island City itself—from ferry-house beginnings to a temple on Jackson Avenue, and eventually to consolidation with Mizpah Lodge in Elmhurst. Its story reflects the making of Queens through fellowship, charity, and civic life.

Advance Service Mizpah Lodge No. 586 carries forward more than 160 years of Masonic history, uniting the legacies of six predecessor lodges across Manhattan, Long Island City, Astoria, Elmhurst, and Flushing. From Civil War–era meeting halls to the enduring Advance Masonic Temple in Astoria, this remarkable lineage reflects the growth of New York City itself and the enduring strength of Freemasonry in Queens.