Businessman Henry Clay Lewis and his wife, Alma, built the original part of this Italianate structure in 1869 to house their extensive art collection and make it available to the public, complementing the Lewises' adjacent home. After Alma's death in 1895, most of the art was donated to the University of Michigan in accordance with Henry's will. The building then served as a Y.M.C.A. from 1896 until 1913, when it became the Masonic Temple. Tyre Lodge #18 Free and Accepted Masons of Coldwater had organized in 1847, and in 1867 Coldwater Masons and their female relatives formed the Order of the Eastern Star chapter that became the oldest continuous Eastern Star chapter in the world. In 1913, Coldwater Masons and Eastern Stars bought the former H.C. Lewis Art Gallery building, and architect Maurice Carney redesigned the Italianate-style structure into a Mission-style building.