Lace Lodging was originally built as the prayer meeting hall for the village of Amana. The sandstone was quarried within the Amana villages’ boundaries, put on skids and the oxen pulled the stone to the building site. The building was begun in 1856 and the sandstone portion was completed about 1860. The wood frame portion of the building was added sometime between 1861 to 1869 as a separate meeting area and a Sunday School area. The large room was used for weekday church services for unmarried women and young girls.
Look closely to the left of the door. You’ll see one of the few sundials in the Amana Colonies. The shadow of the metal rod casts a shadow on to the face of the clock.
In 1944 the building was sold and renovated into a private home. After changing owners a few times, by 1985 the building housed two businesses, Olde World Lace Shoppe and Lehm’s Book Store. In 2001, Lehm’s moved to a new location on main street Amana, and the Olde World Lace Shoppe was housed throughout the building. As the desire for quality lace began to dwindle, the owners of the building began to remodel it into four room suites. This transformation began in 2003 and the fourth suite was completed in 2014. The name of the building became Lace Lodging in May of 2007.
Read More
