Home Care In Masonic Home, KY

For many who walk by, the former Masonic temple in Dayton, Kentucky, an ominous, two-story, brick building at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Vine Street, is an enigma. And that sense of mystery is part of its charm. At least it is to the building's owner, Scott Beseler.

"I mean, people really don't know what goes on here and people really didn't know what went on in Masonic temples to begin with," Beseler said. "So I kind of like like that mystique."

Inside, the century-old building – with its two large auditoriums – is a kaleidoscope of colors and designs. Oh, and an absurdly large collection of clowns. "We've tossed around the idea of having a small portion this building called the Kentucky Clown Museum," Beseler said.

Beseler purchased the space in 2011 and initially intended to house touring bands until he learned of the myriad fire code upgrades needed to bring that idea to fruition.

Rebranded as The Lodge KY, a name that pays tributes to the Freemasons who gathered there, the building now serves as a recording studio, event space and hub for a variety of artists.

"It's kind of just evolved into this beast, where we now have a handful of people that rent space from us, like, monthly and then we take in bands from outside to record and do other projects with," said Beseler, who works full time as a photographer at Northern Kentucky University.

Notable artists who've made use of the space include Walk the Moon, Siri Imani and Foxy Shazam, who self-recorded their latest album, "The Heart Behead You," at The Lodge. It even got a shout-out from Jack White of White Stripes fame in a recent GQ magazine article.

Besides bands, The Lodge is frequented by photographers and also hosts art shows, but there have been considerably fewer of those since the emergence of COVID-19.

"We like to be able to support the artists here, to be able to showcase their work and for them to be able to sell their work," Beseler said.

Though Beseler currently rents the space out for use by various artists, he's trying to turn The Lodge into a nonprofit. "We really don't have any incentives to be making a profit off of these artists," he said, "nor is there much of a profit margin when you're dealing with artists."

Despite the pandemic having such an outsize impact on local arts, Beseler is optimistic about the future.

"I feel like artists are always going to be these drifting type of spirits that want to pursue and have fun and create, and they're always going to be fighting against the system that's trying to feed off of them and use their skills and talents and not pay them," Beseler said.

"So it's a continued fight that we'll have, but I think a place like this," he said of The Lodge, "is going to help support the people in the fight to create and have fun with life instead of going to the grind."

The Henry Barnes Lodge, which used to occupy the structure, is almost as old as the city itself. It was founded in 1879 with just 13 charter members at the Old Knights of Phythias Hall, according to The Enquirer archive. By the 1950s, it reached a membership of more than 600.

The lodge eventually moved to the building on Sixth Avenue, the cornerstone of which was laid in 1922.

Since its construction, the building has hosted community pancake breakfasts and dance classes. Dayton High School used to put on school plays there before it built its own stage in the 1950s. Residents even stored their belongings there during the flood of 1937.

The Masons ultimately decided to sell the building after 83 years following a steady decline in membership and the costs of maintenance, utilities and taxes had become too high, according to a 2006 Enquirer article.

"Luckily, the Masons kind of were all about the arts in a way, because both places I've lived in were pretty much theaters to begin with," said Beseler, who lived in another former Masonic temple in Covington before buying the building in Dayton.

Given the building's history, Beseler adopted the iconography of Freemasonry – a decision he says was a no-brainer. "The building itself is a temple and the lodge are the group of people that meet inside the temple," he said. "So essentially, it is us that is the lodge."

When people talk about Northern Kentucky cities, Dayton isn't currently likely to be high on the list. But that anonymity, and the city's affordability, is exactly what attracts artists, according to Beseler, who also serves on city council.

"It's kind of like a hidden gem over here. It's so close to downtown," Beseler said. "I think our only downfall is it's named Dayton, where people get us confused with Ohio all the time."

Beseler isn't the only one running a recording studio in Dayton, a riverside city of more than 5,600 just three miles from downtown Cincinnati.

Mike Montgomery opened up the Candyland Recording Studio over a decade ago. Since then, many local, regional and national artists – including Buffalo Killers, The Breeders and The Funs – have recorded there.

Whether it be The Lodge or Candyland, it only takes a single anchor to put small cities like Dayton on the map, Montgomery said, adding Dayton is poised to become a hub for local artists.

"There's not a ton of money in art and music, so you often have these communities start to grow in areas where real estate is affordable," he said, citing the rise of neighborhoods across the river like Northside as another example.

The median value of owner-occupied housing units in Dayton is $34,000 less than the statewide median and $110,500 less than the national median, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's good for buyers but not so much for sellers.

At $855, the city's median gross rent – which takes into account the cost of monthly rent plus the estimated average monthly cost of utilities – is just higher than housing costs for renters statewide, but $200 less than the national median.

"There's some good restaurants, there's coffee shops ... I've seen a lot of growth in the last decade," Montgomery said of Dayton, adding he'd like to see more businesses like these open up.

However, the city's economic growth may inadvertently price out the very artists who helped build the community, he said. "But for now, I think it's a great place to ...live and work."

The Masonic Homes of Kentucky is embarking on what may be the final development on its 82-acre campus off Frankfort Avenue.

Planned are two projects with a total of nearly 200 dwellings for seniors at a cost of perhaps $80 million.

"This would get us close to our capacity. We have no significant plans beyond these," said Gary Marsh, Masonic Homes of Kentucky Inc. president and CEO.

The organization has been pursuing major construction in the last decade or more. The serene campus in eastern Louisville includes a 280-unit independent-living apartment complex, a 136-unit skilled nursing home and a 104-unit personal-care, assisted-living project — all senior housing.

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Other facilities include the busy Olmsted event venue, a post office, several clinics and the Sproutlings, a day-care center and preschool catering to medically fragile children.

The Masonic Homes filed plans for part of the new development recently with the Metro Department of Planning and Design Services. For one thing, the Metro Board of Zoning Adjustment must approve — an action that should be routine — modification of a permit the Masonic Homes organization has to allow development of the assisted-living apartments.

Marsh said in a phone interview Friday that the first 48 assisted-living units are planned near the rear of the campus — behind the Olmsted. An old infirmary, built around 1925 but abandoned for several years, will be torn down for the new housing. Marsh said the first 48 units should be under construction next year, ready for occupancy in early 2018.

The units will offer three meals a day and social activities and will have an on-site staff but will not offer medical services, Marsh said.

He said the first phase of that project will cost about $18 million, with financing planned through a government issue of tax-exempt bonds for the nonprofit Masonic Homes.

Twenty-four more assisted-living units in the same general area of the campus are planned later, but the timing of their construction isn't certain.

The other major undertaking in sight is 120 independent-living dwellings planned in a complex just east of the main entrance to the campus, in an open area facing Frankfort.

Marsh said those apartments will cost about $58 million, with construction expected to start next year and completed in 2018. The complex will probably also be financed with tax-exempt bonds.

Several local municipalities have made a practice of issuing bonds for nonprofits' projects. The cities assume no financial risk, and the bond issues typically provide mortgage money to the organizations at below the prevailing market interest rate.

Reach Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer at (502) 582-7089, or via email at [email protected].

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