Here's the church, and here's the Steeple...

A bearskin rug isn't what you would expect to find in front of a church pulpit. You also might be surprised to see a superhero-themed dance where the pews are normally arranged, and a murder mystery being acted out in front of the altar.

But that's exactly what's been happening at the Rosemount Steeple Center, formerly the Church of St. Joseph.

Rosemount's new arts and community center has been open since July, and the city says it's pleased with the community response thus far. Still, the city's arts council wants to nudge the building toward becoming more of an arts center, which is the way it was originally planned to be used.

Last week, the Steeple Center was the venue for an annual Cub Scout banquet. At the place where a pastor once stood, a scout leader addressed the crowd of proud parents and energetic children.

"Let's face it. They don't make buildings the way they used to," said Dave Speich, a Boy Scout troop adviser, who said he admired the Steeple Center's architectural details, such as the woodwork around the windows and the high ceilings.

"There's history behind it," Speich said of the building on S. Robert Trail.

The architecture was also a draw for Anthony Stender, 29, and Jessica Breuer, 25, who plan to be married at the center in the fall.

"She was kind of looking for something different and unique," said Barbara Severson, Breuer's mother.

The church was built in 1924, and the connecting school in the 1950s. When the church relocated to its current spot on Biscayne Avenue W. in 2003, it took the original stained-glass windows, said Rosemount Mayor Bill Droste, who used to attend services in the building. The pews were sent to a mission, he said. The old building also got new carpeting and a fire-suppression system.

But the former church still has its charms. In what used to be called the "crying room" still sits the safe where collections were stored. There is also a little hallway behind the stage connecting the back rooms.

"For plays and stage areas, you can enter off and on. It's sort of cute," Droste said.

Besides its architecture, the former church building is important to many of the residents of Rosemount, Droste said.

Focus on arts

Rosemount bought the church in 2004. It would be several years before a task force was formed and made a recommendation to use the building as an arts center.

The Rosemount Area Arts Council was formed mostly from the center discussions, but now its functions branch out to other parts of the community.

Recently, the council has been booking bluegrass bands to play in town twice a month at a local bar.

The council also has used the Steeple Center to host a film festival and murder mystery dinner theater. Its members hope to expand the building's bookings to include more than weddings and banquets, said council president Keith Reed.

Meeting that goal depends in large part on the center getting updates to deal with sound and lighting issues, he said. The group is going to begin to work with a consultant on a management plan in which Reed says the future of the art center should be addressed.

As for the city itself, it's satisfied with how the Steeple Center has been doing.

"We were really happy with the diversity of activities that have happened there," said Dan Schultz, parks and recreation director for the city.

In its first year of operation, the city was hoping it would make about $14,000, Schultz said. The center surpassed expectations by making at least half of that last calendar year, he said.

There's also been discussion about finding a use for the school that's attached to the main church building, but getting that portion of the center up to code could be expensive. One suggestion has been to transform it into an apartment complex, though nothing has been formerly introduced to the city.