Part Three of a Series — LIFT WC shows how it’s done at The Elks

“Gutsy volunteers tackle a big, complex project downtown.”

On Friday, April 19 2019, the former Elks Club Lodge, 713 Second Street in downtown Webster City, was little more than a warehouse full of goods hardly fit for a garage sale.

Yet the old brick building still retained her elegant lines and fine details. Squinting, you could perhaps see what caused all the excitement on April 10, 1908, the date of the building’s official dedication.

The Webster City Freeman of that propitious day left no doubt as to the building’s grandeur: “Large, imposing doors open into a vestibule done in oak and stained glass. The first floor comprises a large reception parlor, opening off of which are two, smaller, private parlors, back of which is the billiard room. Leading from the first to second floor are two massive stairways. Second-floor rooms are almost finished … woodwork is done in oak, and the walls are frescoed. On this floor are the spacious lodge and dance hall, smoking and lounging rooms, and the café and kitchen.”

The modern-day story of the Elks began in 2019 when the City of Webster City bought it from Merlyn Tungesvik for $40,000, but actually paid only $25,000 when Tungesvik didn’t remove his property from the building as required in the contract.

Volunteers did the job over a number of months, eventually hauling away 40 tons of material.

The implied mission was daunting: Could the decrepit, down-on-her luck dowager of a building be transformed, once more, into the reigning monarch of downtown?

A fearless band of six volunteers thought so and formed LIFT WC — Local Initiative For Transformation Webster City — a nonprofit chartered to raise funds and oversee renovation.

Original plans called for the revitalized building to be sold to a private party, but six-and-a-half years later, no private-sector suitors have appeared. For now, LIFT WC remains the de-facto owner and operator.

An early estimate of the cost to substantially rebuild the building and install an elevator was $1.5 million. The Covid pandemic, the resulting shortages of both materials and manpower, and the reality of renovating a 119-year-old building with thousands of failing mortar joints caused the estimate to be revised to $3 million.

Here it has remained and is likely to be the final cost of the project.

An engineering study found the building was structurally sound, but moisture had penetrated the south wall. Glass block, popular in the 1930s, was installed in six windows and a door on that wall. The door led to a cast iron balcony which was once a prominent feature of the building’s Second Street presence. It may be rebuilt one day. The glass block, deemed out-of-character with the building’s turn-of-the-century ambiance, has been replaced with plain glass.

The exterior of the building required extensive masonry repairs.

James Vesey, of Fort Dodge, a fourth-generation mason with 37 years’ experience, did the work. He was hired later to stabilize the masonry of 608 Second Street, another building owned by LIFT WC.

Much as it took the disastrous failure of an Interstate 35 bridge in Minneapolis, in 2007, to call attention to the rickety condition of the nation’s highways, it took the collapse of a 1907 brick apartment building in Davenport to remind everyone that brick buildings require careful inspection and maintenance to remain safe.

“That was a wake-up call,” Vesey said. “Many cities, including Webster City, haven’t inspected old buildings on a regular basis for years. Now we realize that many of Iowa’s older brick buildings need repair. Most brick buildings in downtown Webster City are in this condition.”

This story uses “renovation” rather than “restoration” for a key reason. Restoration, the conservation of the original building, inside and out, was never the objective of this project. Rather, as LIFT WC board member Zach Chizek recently put it, “we’re honoring the history of the building, but bringing in modern functionality.” For example, new hardwood floors are being installed on the first and second floors; it’s a traditional look and feel, but not truly historic as the materials are new.

In the end, what Webster City will get in The Elks is a modern, functional building inside a historic exterior.

In theory, it could stand another hundred years.

Because of the building’s age, LIFT WC board President Darcy Swon explained, “We weren’t required by law to put in an elevator, but we installed one to make the building accessible to more people.”

The new elevator lobby is on the building’s north side, the door facing the parking lot, and is expected to become the entrance used by most.

At some point in its history at least part of the building was remodeled in the Art Deco style. Swon said, “We’ll echo that in new wall tiles and lighting. The new colors used in the interior are based on the colors of glass in the stained-glass windows.”

Lindsay Henderson, another LIFT board member, extensively researched art deco styles, materials and colors. She and Swon made the final decisions, working with Kevin Rubash, of Interior Spaces, Webster City.

“Using local companies for as much of the work as possible was a major objective,” said Swon.

Wildcat Distilling bets its future on the revitalized Elks Club Lodge.

Renovation of The Elks has been funded with donations and grants, but LIFT always envisioned the building could be self-sustaining once work was completed. The announcement, on October 14, 2024, that Wildcat Distilling Company was leasing half of the main floor not only puts truth to that goal, but provides an appropriate, even exciting, home for one of the most innovative new business start-ups in Webster City’s recent history.

Wildcat co-owner Tony Nelson, said, “We’re fascinated by the history and beauty of The Elks club building, and feel it can become the social hub of downtown Webster City. For us, we see it as a fitting venue for our future.”

He added, “We’ll have a larger bar and seating for groups of all sizes, from a couple looking for an intimate setting to a large group seated on comfortable, living room-like furniture in the fireplace room. Our objective is always to provide our customers with a unique, authentic experience.”

Nelson’s wife, Alissa, is in charge of space planning and interior design, and he promises it will live up to renovation work done on the building up to now.

A “speak-easy” room, secluded behind a moveable bookcase and designed for guided tastings and small group events, will be a special feature. Also, live music is also on the horizon.

“We’ll feature our own spirits, made from our own estate-grown grains, and distilled in our own facility in Duncombe, but also an expanded beer selection and a larger bar food menu,” Nelson confirmed.

Wildcat will provide all alcohol sold in the building, not only in its own main floor tasting rooms, but upstairs in the ballroom for private gatherings.

Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce Director Anna Woodward sees the promise this partnership creates.

“Wildcat is a growing business with great expansion plans. We’re extremely fortunate that space at the former Elks is available for them.”

LIFT has also done extensive work in the basement. One large room today, it could easily be subdivided for tenants with specific business or space requirements in the future.

Back upstairs, Swon envisions the large entrance and stair hall on the main floor as a perfect venue for art exhibits and casual, live music. Standing on the grand oak staircase and looking down at the now beautifully-reimagined space, it’s easy to believe her.

That staircase leads to the expansive third floor ballroom.

John Hawkins, another LIFT board member who is also Webster City’s mayor, said, “We’ll manage the ballroom for the foreseeable future.”

The plan is that proceeds from event planning and booking will be a source of continuing income to fund LIFT projects into the future.

And that future looks bright, says Swon.

“We already have tons of interest in wedding receptions and class reunions.”

View this article as it originally appeared in the Daily Freeman-Journal.