Venue with a view: Carthage event center building rooftop space on square – Joplin Globe

CARTHAGE, Mo. People have admired the Jasper County courthouse from the sidewalks around the Carthage square for more than a century.

Soon, people looking for a venue for hosting events will get a chance to use the courthouse as a backdrop to their celebrations.

Becky Andrews and her family, owners of the Lillian James & Co. Salon on the east end of the north side of the square, have opened the second floor of the former Front Page building, immediately west of the salon, as an event center called The Gaderian.

And now theyre building additional space for events on The Gaderian's roof, which will feature a dance floor, bar and an unparalleled view of the 126-year-old courthouse.

That view is the million-dollar view, Andrews said. This is a nice building, but that courthouse is everything. Without it, were not unique. Were just another rooftop venue.

Plans are for the rooftop venue to be finished late in March, and the first event has already been booked. Miller High School will hold its 2020 prom at The Gaderian on April 25.

Andrews and her son-in-law, Brandon Calliotte, run The Gaderian, named for an Old English term meaning to bring together. The Gaderian occupies the second floor of the building at 141 Third St. that also houses the Fair Acres Family Ys square fitness center and the offices of the McCune-Brooks Healthcare Foundation.

Andrews and her daughter, Cassandra Calliotte, have operated the Lillian James & Co. Salon at 149 Third St. for the past four years. When they had the chance to buy the building next door, they jumped on the opportunity to bring these two buildings back together.

Andrews said shes working with other Carthage business owners to provide a place where brides can get everything they need for their wedding including a one-of-a-kind venue, places to stay that are close by, flowers and catering all in one place.

Big project

The family has accomplished much of the restoration work itself, cleaning out 10 trash-bin loads of debris from the second floor of the former store, tearing out old plaster and uncovering brick walls that had been out of sight for years.

The building is structurally sound and strong, Andrews said, but the restoration had two big challenges: the heating and air conditioning system, and wheelchair accessibility for the second floor.

Tackling the first required replacing the existing system, which was expensive but straightforward, Andrews said. The second challenge, installing an elevator, required more creativity. An architect designed the elevator so that it goes through the roof and has an exit in a hut there.

It was important to have an elevator because with every family, every wedding, theres someone who cannot tackle the stairs, Andrews said. We had to ask for the variance, and we had to go and get the approval from the Missouri Elevator Safety Board in Jefferson City.

Brandon Calliotte has been working with Andrews husband, Lynn Andrews, to install a rooftop platform, which will include wrought-iron fencing around its perimeter, and other amenities.

Calliotte said the family has contracted with local businesses wherever possible for jobs that were too big for the family to handle.

That courthouse is great, and this entire community has been super awesome, he said. People are getting excited about either bringing a new industry to town or just preserving some of the older places. Weve been getting a lot of positive feedback from that, and it's been surreal. Ive never had that kind of community connection. Its been really neat.

Fireproof door

When Becky Andrews decided to connect the second floor of the two buildings at 141 Third St. and 149 Third St., Carthage city officials said she would need to install a fireproof door to preserve the firewall between the two structures. Andrews said she found three large rolling antique stamped metal doors in a restaurant in New Orleans and moved quickly to buy one of them. .

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Venue with a view: Carthage event center building rooftop space on square - Joplin Globe