Pythian Castle

The Pythian Castle, formally the Knights of Pythias Lodge Hall, is a distinctive 1904 building in downtown Weiser that mixes Gothic Revival and Romanesque elements in a way that would look overdone in a city but seems perfectly correct in a small Idaho town. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it's a reminder that Weiser had genuine ambitions in the early 20th century.

The building is not generally open for tourist visits, but it's worth a look from the street as part of a walk through downtown. The stonework and turret make it the most architecturally eccentric building in town.

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The Knights of Pythias were a fraternal order founded in Washington DC in 1864. By the early 1900s they had lodges throughout the American West, and small towns competed to build the most impressive lodge hall as a marker of civic pride. Weiser's 1904 example is one of the better-preserved examples in Idaho.

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