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A sprawling, 108-year-old, multiuse building is for sale in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Southwest Portland.

The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Center, at 709 S.W. 15th Ave., was built in 1902 for that order of masons. But because of diminishing membership, the order decided to sell the building and look to move into a smaller space. The building has been on the market for at least four years.

“We’re trying to be smart with how we manage this piece of property and maybe acquire a new, modern building in a different location,” said Ron Eggers, general secretary of the Portland Scottish Rite.

The 55,990-square-foot building was constructed in a neoclassic style with concrete and terra-cotta brick masonry and an addition built in 1937. The interior contains a 587-seat theatre, a dozen offices, a ballroom, a full kitchen and several meeting rooms.

“It’s a wonderful historic building that has a lot of character to it and a variety of different venues inside,” Eggers said.

The center was the first to be specifically designed and built for the Scottish Rite in the U.S., Eggers said, and it was used as a model for others in the country.

The order used the building to host its own events – different spaces were used to fulfill the 29 degrees of Scottish Rite masonry – but it also rents out space. The ballroom is used for weddings and other special events, for which the order has a caterer on staff. The auditorium is used for private shows – the Portland Revels chorus, for example, is performing there this month.

The broker for the building, Larry Conn of Jackson Beall & Conn Inc., said he has looked at this property from several angles. He has approached school districts, Portland State University and obvious users of big meeting halls and spaces. Naturally, one of the first ideas was McMenamins – the brew pub chain that redevelops historic buildings. But Conn said his best bet will probably be with the art community once the economy picks up.

The listed price for the building is $4.5 million.

For more details on purchasing the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry Center, contact Conn at 503-635-8668 or [email protected].