Danes Hall to open in fall
By Angie Landsverk
The renovation of Danes Hall continues in downtown Waupaca.
“Our goal is to be done with it by this fall,” said Michael Koehler.
The main level meeting space and upper level ballroom are scheduled to be complete the last week of September.
The bakery/coffee shop in the building’s lower level is also currently under construction.
That part of the project is expected to take a bit longer, wrapping up a couple months after the meeting space and ballroom are done.
Koehler provided an update about the project during a recent Waupaca Historical Society program.
Area residents and visitors filled the lower level of the Holly History Center for his presentation, which was about the building’s past, present and future.
Koehler, along with brothers Jack and Joe, formed Danes Home LLC in early 2017.
That followed the August 2016 purchase of the building, which is located at 301 N. Main St.
Their family has a connection to the building.
Their great-uncle, Peter Holst, was the treasurer of the Danes Home Society from the late 1800s to the early 1900s.
Holst was 14 years old when he came to Waupaca from Denmark in 1877, Koehler said.
The Koehler family’s other roots here is the Sorensen family, which arrived in 1887.
The family always had a stable anchor here and kept being pulled back to Waupaca, said Koehler, a chemist who lives and works in the Chicago area.
He and his siblings grew up in Chicago, and have childhood memories of visiting Waupaca.
While Koehler lives in Illinois, Jack and Joe live in Waupaca.
Both of them moved here about 20 years ago.
“I was so afraid they were going to tear the building down,” Koehler said.
Local legacy
The building is on both the state and national registers of historic places.
As a result, anything taking place there involves conversations with the Wisconsin Historical Society and the National Park Service.
“We want to do this right,” Koehler said.
They had to prove there was once a restaurant in the lower level of the building.
A photo helped them do so.
He noted the building is registered with the National Park Service as Danes Hall.
That is why the Koehler family is calling it that, instead of Danes Home.
Koehler said he has a strong interest in history.
Built into a granite ledge in 1894, Danes Hall was used by the National Guard, and also for high school graduations, political meetings, theater performances and more, he said.
Many pictures were taken from the vantage point of that hill, Koehler said.
Waupaca has a deep Danish heritage, and the Danes Home Society was organized for both social and literary purposes.
“When the people left Denmark, it was a time of the great high society,” Koehler said. “The problem was it was an absolute monarchy. If you were educated, you did well. If not, you ended up coming to Waupaca.”
He said, “If you’ve been to Denmark, it’s an awful lot like Wisconsin.”
Rasmus Sorensen led parties of immigrants here, Koehler said.
He said there was conflict between those wanting to integrate into the American lifestyle and those wanting to preserve the Danish culture.
“Rev. Rasmus Andersen was sent here to try to pull everyone back together, into the conservative Lutheran church it was supposed to be,” Koehler said.
Waupaca is one of several areas in the state where many Danes settled.
The reason why the Danish culture was not seen more here was intentional, he said.
“They did not come here to be Danes in America,” Koehler said. “They came here to be Americans.”
Present, future
While Koehler has enjoyed learning about Danes Hall’s past, he has even more of an interest in what his family will do with the building.
There are two phases for the renovation project.
He said the first phase was to protect and secure the outside of the building.
They tried to maintain the original character and found pictures to be helpful throughout the process.
Bricks were fixed, and they had to restore the limestone-based mortar.
The building’s exterior was cleaned, brightening it up.
Inside, the family credits the owner of the former antique mall for saving the building and not letting it fall part.
The building’s original staircase remains.
The stairs, added at one time from the main level to the ballroom, have been removed.
Koehler said it is important to add modern conveniences.
This includes restrooms and an elevator.
He said they want to bring back the strong Danish legacy of lifelong learning, music and culture.
It would be great to connect with Winchester Academy’s heritage, Koehler said.
He would love to see performances take place at Danes Hall.
“Waupaca has one of the greatest music and art cultures,” Koehler said. “I believe a lot of that comes from the Danes.”
Seeing a Jens Jensen-inspired park at the nearby Washington Park is also something he would like to see.
Jensen was a landscape architect who believed in natural landscaping and worked with architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
Koehler is also interested in bringing Danish food back to the area, including open-faced sandwiches and pastries.
He wants people who live here today to consider Danes Hall as their home.
“I want it to be relevant for today – a place of songs, music, performances,” Koehler said. “People can say, ‘I had my wedding there.’”