About our building
Did you know that the Klondike meeting facility was not always public space?
In 1992, the Maclers, Henry (Hank) (an anesthesiologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center) and his wife, Jean, bought 250 acres from the U.S. Silica Company after the Klondike Quarry ceased operations in 1983 (come visit our Klondike History Wall for more information about the Quarry).
The area off the deck was a quarry that they wanted to turn into a lake with run-off from the main quarry lake. They tried lining it with clay, but they couldn’t stop the leaks, so they abandoned the idea.
On the front of the house (facing the current parking lot) was a single door with a deck that entered into the main bedroom suite. The Parks Department created the grand entrance that we have today. Originally the main entrance was what we now consider the “back door.” Beside the back door is the dog kennel for their German Shepherd, Clipper, who also had a metal ramp and doggie door into the house. What is now our “Annex” gallery behind the public bathrooms, was Hank’s mother, Florence’s, suite where she had her own fully-accessible bathroom. The current library area was their living room, with recliners and a TV. They had two dining areas: the first was adjacent to the stairway, and the second was the area off of the kitchen that held a pool table that could be covered to serve as a buffet. The basement was storage, the garage, and another bathroom.
After considering several locations around the property (including on the overlook), the Maclers settled on the current location for their home. The house, designed to be built from steel I-beams by renowned mid-century modern architect Charles E. King, was finished after King’s death by Pat Lloyd. The interior designer was Brad Tenterf, and the ceiling, metal balcony, flooring, and countertops are all original.
Some of our own local artistic Masters lent their talents to the home's decor. Sam Stang designed and cast the glass tiles in the kitchen, and Michael Bauermeister created the cabinets in the kitchen and the library.​
The Maclers lived in the house with one son and Hank’s mother, Florence, for a while and then used it as a B&B, called the “Quarry House,” toward the end of their ownership. In 1999, the Maclers sold the 250-acre property, including their 5-bedroom house, to the St. Charles County Parks for $2.48 million. In 2001, St. Charles County began developing what would become Klondike Park. The Maclers gave the county a gift of $520,000 to help establish the Park, which opened May 21, 2004.
For many years, the house was rented out by the Parks as an event space. Then, in January 2023, the St. Charles County Parks entered into an agreement with The Creative at Klondike to use the building as a Community Arts Center, and the Arts Center is honored to be able to spend time in such an amazing building.
