Classic Goes Chic

Few Twin Cities buildings boast a landmark and location status on par with the Calhoun Beach Club. So it was with sheer thrill that restaurateur Richard D’Amico signed a twenty-year lease on the club’s banquet and meeting facilities, then immediately embarked on an ambitious renovation to return the spaces to their former glory.

Photo by Paul Crosby

Contemporary lighting, furniture, and décor at the Calhoun Beach Club.

Construction of the CBC began in the late 1920s, but was halted during the Great Depression and not finished until well into the 1940s. “Fortunately, a lot of the art deco elements we love found their way into the two large areas—the Solarium and the Boulevard Room,” says D’Amico. “The bones here were built in the ’20s, which is why they’re so special and have so much character.” The architecture is indeed dramatic: Ceilings reach as high as thirty feet, with nearly full-height arched windows with views of Lake Calhoun and Dean Parkway. But many of the additions looked more like the ’50s or ’60s, D’Amico says. “It was totally out of place. The latticework and plastic plants did not fit the grandeur of the core structure.”

D’Amico brought in trusted architect and friend Michelle Piontek (formerly on staff at D’Amico & Partners and now with KKE Architects) to plan space changes and choose fixtures and finishes. “Because it’s a historic building, there were limitations as to what we could do,” Piontek says. They presented design ideas to the Minnesota Historical Society and sent them to the United States Department of the Interior for approval. General contractor Zeman Construction Company then carefully executed all updates. “We tried to bring it into the present in other ways,” adds D’Amico. A most stunning example: the oversized silk drum pendants trimmed with crystals bring a touch of the twenty-first century into the space while still being elegant. “We wanted to make a statement. As soon as people walked in, we wanted them to say, ‘Wow, this isn’t what it used to be,’” D’Amico says.

The contemporary lighting easily passed muster with the historical society. “In researching photos, we learned the original ceiling didn’t have light fixtures. They allowed us to go with a contrasting style and actually preferred that over a reproduction.”

Photo by Paul Crosby

Considerable thought went into the small lobby spaces as well. D’Amico collaborated with ID inside design principal Greg Walsh on the furnishings, which include French–style chairs upholstered with crocodile-stamped faux leather and custom-made polished-nickel cocktail and console tables. Carrying through on the unexpected, Walsh designed starched-canvas palm trees to pair with the chic tables and chairs. “They’re like the big palms you see in stately hotels and classic cruise ships,” he says, “They’re delineated and neutralized in finish, but the silhouette and form is traditional.”

That the edgy mix of fixtures and furnishings works is due largely to the calm finishes: white, cream, and gray paint; damask and striped wall coverings in umber and silver/gray; restored terrazzo and herringbone oak floors in the ballrooms; and flax-color wool area rugs in the lobby areas. The foundation also likely ensures the space can evolve comfortably over time. “The background is so classic in colors and millwork that without a big investment, you could easily push it in a new direction,” Walsh says. “It’s not like the entire space would need to be rethought or redone.”