By Audrey Posten

With a designation on the National Register of Historic Places applied for and recent rezoning approval from R1 - Residential to C2 - Commercial, plans are well underway to rehabilitate the former Guttenberg Masonic Lodge into an event space.

Located at 130 S. First St., the building was built in 1926 as Prairie La Porte Lodge—an homage to the community’s name before it became widely known as Guttenberg.

“It served as a gathering and event space for a fraternal organization. And it kind of marked the rapid growth of commerce from the German immigration to Guttenberg and then the booming river trade as well,” explained Ike Sweet.

The Masonic chapter later dissolved and the building was put up for sale. Sweet’s mother, Penny Rausch, bought it, intending to use the space for storage for her secondhand store Henny Penny’s Retail and Rentals.

But several years later, when faced with a leaking roof and doors that were less than air-tight, Sweet said the family began evaluating whether it should unload the building or invest in its upkeep. He saw opportunity.

“I was like, ‘It is a historic building. It’s a gorgeous building.’ So we brainstormed some different ideas of what we could do with it,” he shared.

Original plans were to convert the building into apartments, but the historic preservation commission advised against carving up what was still a largely original structure after 100 years.

“Then we thought to keep it to its true, original self and keep it an event space and meeting place—a gathering space for the community,” Sweet said.

Although the Masonic Temple’s new C2 zoning would allow for apartments to be part of future use plans, it can now operate as a business as well.

According to Sweet, the building’s exterior will remain largely unchanged.

“It’s all the same classic revival. We’re just going to restain some of the brick, redo some of the landscaping and add some light fixtures outside to make it not so dark and spooky,” he said.

Other eventual improvements will include redoing the rubber roof, resealing and reviving the windows, resealing and repainting and staining the original doors, then resanding and refinishing the original hardwood flooring inside the main room. Interior painting and trim work will also be completed.

“We are going to extend the galley kitchen downstairs and make it more into a commissary kitchen. That way it can fit that niche for catering in the area because, as far as we know, there’s not a whole lot of catering companies trying to work in the area,” Sweet said.

That fits well with the family’s existing wedding rental company, which offers tables, chairs, linens, decor and event planning.

Sweet envisions partnering with local florists, bridal shops, food vendors and more for events.

“We really want to work in unison with the commerce in Guttenberg,” he said.

Sweet believes the event space will also fill a need in its proximity to downtown.

“We’re going to try to provide the full service—food, drinks, entertainment—but center it more in downtown. The churches are all right around the corner. It’s perfect for weddings. The school is right up the street. You can host post prom there. The funeral home’s across the street, and you could do funeral dinners there,” he said. “There’s tons of opportunity being centrally located in the middle of town. It’ll just bring some love to that neighborhood and revive something that just sits there.”

During the rezoning process, Sweet acknowledged there were some community concerns about parking and potential noise levels in the area. He said sharing plans and intended uses helped smooth fears.

“After we spoke about how this is going to better the community and serve a bigger purpose, they were more on board for it,” he said.

Overall, he feels feedback has been positive. What some perceive now as an “old, spooky building” will get a new life.

“It’s actually really beautiful,” Sweet said. “It’s classic revival architecture, with beautiful brick and mason work. The original wood inside is just to die for. You don’t have craftsmanship like that anymore.”

According to Sweet, the hope is to complete the roof and windows this summer. If so, the space could host smaller events as early as this fall.

He imagines mystery dinners, movie showings and live performances and music.

“I’m excited to start getting some new fun events in there, to open it up to the community, get them in there and get them excited to see what we’re doing,” he shared.