Beach Hall (Sternberg Museum)
Beach Hall is sited adjacent to Interstate 70 in the northeastern part of Hays. The domed portion of this 102,182 gross square foot building houses the world-famous Sternberg Museum.
The Beacon Hill Spa and Health Club, later called the Metroplex, was built in 1984, and at various times housed a health club and spa, offices, a bowling alley, a radio station and an upscale restaurant. The building was eventually closed. Adolph Reisig, Executive Director, Fort Hays State University Endowment Association, bid $1 at the foreclosure auction on December 27, 1991, and then paid an $8 fee to register the deed. The Endowment Association transferred the title to the property to the state during a meeting of the Kansas Board of Regents. The building was then completely renovated. The grand opening of the building on March 13, 1999, occurred the day after a blizzard dumped 11" of snow on the city.
Beach Hall is named for Ross and Marianna Beach whose generous contributions helped make the renovation of the building possible. President Edward Hammond announced at a press conference on June 13, 1993, that Ross and Marianna Beach had given a gift of $1 million to the Sternberg project.