After 100 years, the building at the corner of Fifth Street and Rood Avenue has finally changed hands.

In 1898, the local chapter of the International Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization, began constructing the building at the corner of Rood Avenue and Fifth Street, completing it in 1906.

In December, the 15-member group sold the century-old building to John Hanley and Kris and Eric Kjeldgaard.

As Roper Music owners, Hanley and Kris Kjeldgaard had rented a downstairs portion of the building for more than a decade.

For 100 years Odd Fellows held meetings and large dinners at the I.O.O.F. hall. But even so, it wasn’t hard to let it go, said Edith Kinder, secretary for the local lodge.

“It was a lot of expense to keep up for no more than we were using it,” Kinder said. “I’m so glad John Handley could handle it and buy it.

“We needed a smaller place, on the ground level. It was hard for the older people to use the stairs,” Kinder said.

The Odd Fellows met upstairs from Roper Music, where there’s a kitchen, meeting room and a large room with a hardwood floor — an area Roper is turning into a small concert and recital hall that can also be used for small wedding parties, Kjeldgaard said.

“We’re really excited about having some nice, intimate quiet concerts,” Kjeldgaard said. “We want to have people come and use it.”

The first concert takes place Thursday at 7 p.m. with a performance by the Western Colorado Jazz Orchestra. (See page 4)

The room can hold about 150 people, Kjeldgaard said.

We’re calling it “the ballroom,” she said.

“There are a lot of piano teachers and lesson teachers of all instruments who are always looking for recital halls,” Kjeldgaard said.

The new owners have been in the process of painting and updating the electrical work on the old building.

By the end of the year, abundant sunlight will come pouring through the upstairs rooms.

There are six 44-by-106-inch west-facing windows, and eight north-facing windows of the same size that have been boarded up for years.

Roper plans to uncover those windows, Kjeldgaard said. “Once we get all those opened up, it will really liven it up.”

The ballroom came with a 1908 Steinway piano that’s in the process of being rebuilt.

Next to the ballroom is a room that also came with an extra feature — a 1909 Brunswick pool table. The new owners plan to use the room for conferences and have already used the space for a music teachers in-service meeting. The “boardroom” also has two large boarded-up windows that will be uncovered.

In 17th century England, Odd Fellows was the name given to people who belonged to organizations that gave aid to people in need, or worked on projects for the benefit of all mankind, according to the Sovereign Grand Lodge, International Order of Odd Fellows Web site. The first North American I.O.O.F lodge was organized in Baltimore in 1819.

“We give donations to Hospice, Family Health West, abused children, the American Cancer Society and the Rose Bowl parade float,” Kinder said.

For information about renting the ballroom for a concert, party or meeting, contact Hanley or Kjeldgaard at 242-3272.


Reach Sharon Sullivan at ssullivan@gjfreepress.com.