Restoring a piece of history: The Beacon

Photos by: John Burns

In the 1900s, the Woman’s Club of Topeka was a highly influential group of more than 400 members who fundraised for local schools and institutions, providing books, artwork, musical educational materials as well as providing entertainment to its members. The club was instrumental in raising funds after the 1903 floods, and during World War I, the club members devoted most of their time to “war work.”

The Woman’s Club was thought to be one of Topeka’s most dependable organizations that had the best interests of the community in mind and was ready to help in any given situation. Needing a larger space in which to hold their meetings and events, in 1925 this influential group opened a three story 27,507 square foot brick building at 420 SW 9th St.

At the time, this building was one of the largest clubhouses West of the Mississippi River, overshadowing clubhouses in larger cities like Wichita or Kansas City.

After several years of prosperity, the club’s membership started to diminish and they sold the building to MBI, Inc., who eventually leased the building to the State of Kansas in the early 1980s. MBI, Inc. covered up many of the original architectural features of the building, lowered the ceilings, leveled the floors and constructed cubicles to create office space that would be used until 2019, when the state moved its offices to another location. In 2020, this historic gem came up for auction, and that’s when the Stemlers and Iricks bought the building and began to restore it to its original state.

“The ladies who built this place were definitely ladies of influence,” Courtney Stemler said. “This type of endeavor was not a normal thing for women of their time to do, but they fundraised and made it happen. They spared no expense, and now, we are bringing it back to life.”

A FAMILY AFFAIR

Courtney and Shelby are sisters and would often get their two families together to socialize. One evening, as they were chatting about things to do in Topeka, the foursome decided to do more than just talk about pursing their dream of owning an event space.

“We had been tossing around a lot of ideas about business opportunities we could pursue as a group, some of them more feasible than others,” Courtney said. “When the Woman’s Club building came up for auction, it just seemed like the right place at the right time.”

Courtney and Shelby researched the historical aspects of the building while Chris and Nic ran the numbers and worked through the financing options to determine how much they could spend on the project. When they all came back together, it was a consensus: They would bid on the building.

Knowing their financial limitations and facing higher construction materials costs, the couples looked for ways to save money and stay within budget. One of those cost cutting measures was doing their own demolition work. It quickly became one of the most rewarding tasks because every time they demolished something, they uncovered unique architectural features like abarrel ceiling, a spring dance floor, hidden balconies, and stained-glass windows that could only be seen from the outside.

“When we bought the building, we had the original blueprints. We could see, from an architectural perspective, what was above the drop ceilings,” Nic Irick said. “But it can be hard to picture what that will actually look like. Once we got into the demolition, we found so many really interesting things that make this space unique.”

HISTORY GUIDES RENOVATION

Because the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, renovations come with certain limitations. However, the new owners didn’t view these restrictions as hindrances but rather saw them as helpful guidelines.

“We did not come into this project to try and turn this building into something that it was not originally intended to be, for instance, turn the space into condos or something,” Chris Stemler said. “If we had tried to do that, we would have had a lot of issues, but since we are basically trying to restore it to what it was intended for, meeting the historical requirements has not been any trouble.”

The Stemlers and Iricks purchased the building with the intention of providing Topeka with a unique space that can be used for just about anything. They want The Beacon to be a space where locals can easily host a wide variety of events from business meetings to weddings or other fun events.

“Basically, we want to have fun, and we want to help other people have fun as well,” Chris Stemler said. “An event space seemed like a great way to do both. People in Topeka have complained for a long time about not having enough to do. Other businesses are starting to offer more recreational activities, and we’d like to help catalyze that. This building lets us host activities for others and create entertainment and experiences of our own for Topeka to enjoy.”

They also feel that The Beacon’s purpose aligns with GO Topeka and Downtown Topeka, Inc.’s vision for a thriving and growing community. The key to experience that growth, Chris Stemler says, is to attract young professionals to Topeka and then give them a reason to stay. Part of that attraction is giving people more choices for events and entertainment.

“Topeka needs to offer more options, especially for event spaces,” Chris Stemler said. “We think economically, the city would benefit from people spending money in Topeka instead of going somewhere else for their event. We also think culturally, the more engaged folks our age, or really anybody, can be in staying here, the better off Topeka will be.”

MOVING FORWARD

The Beacon has recently held a Halloween Trivia Night and a New Year’s Eve party, as well as private events such as business meetings and weddings. Even groups who like to play board games have shown interest in using the facility.

“We want to be that personal connection for groups and individuals to provide the perfect space for whatever their needs are. We are a blank canvas with the flexibility to help people accomplish whatever they can dream up,” Nic Irick said. “We think that kind of experience is unique for Topeka.”

The Stemlers and Iricks plan to continue their business ventures down the road—but probably in a whole new direction.

“This has been quite a process,” Nic Irick said. “We know it is a marathon, not a sprint, and over time, things will grow. This is step one. We plan to do other real-estate projects.”