If you can't judge a book by its cover, the same is true for buildings. A facade can be deceptive, as is the case for Takk House, a revived brownstone in Troy, now used as a multiuse event space.

"We wanted something that was really unique, but sometimes 'unique' means gutted," says Heidi Benjamin, co-owner of Takk House. Benjamin and her life and work partner, Frank Sicari, were initially deterred by the building's austere rock stucco face, but once inside they found a dream location for creating an event space with plenty of character.

The building was erected in 1865 as a residence. A porch and carriage house were once part of the structure. In 1889, the Third Street brownstone was bought by the Frear brothers (of department store fame) and converted into mixed use commercial space. A lawyer, rug merchant, tailor and hat shop were all tenants.

In 1918, the Knights of Columbus purchased the building, then renovated and expanded it, adding a two-story ballroom with intricate plasterwork moldings and ceiling, a gymnasium with a shuffleboard court on the third floor and a four-lane bowling alley in the basement. In the 1970s, the Knights had to decide whether to repair the street-facing exterior or replace it completely. The latter choice won. The streamlined exterior is indicative of the urban renewal that was common in cities in the 1970s.

The Knights fell on hard financial times in the subsequent decades, and the building was seized in lieu of back taxes by the city of Troy in 1999. Before the Knights relinquished control, they held auctions to sell furniture and fixtures, including lights, marble fireplace surrounds and doorknobs.

"eBay has been my best friend," to find period-style replacements, says Benjamin, noting that many of the current fixtures have been found locally through Craigslist, including a set of theater seats from what is now the Spectrum Theatres in Albany. Those hold special meaning for Benjamin and Sicari, who had their first date at the Spectrum.

The building was bought from the city by a pair of artists from California, who did most of the renovation seen today. Drop ceilings were pulled down to reveal coffered and medallioned ceilings. "We're just kind of finishing their work," says Sicari. He and Benjamin purchased the building in March of this year.

"I think we spent most of our money on paint," says Benjamin. Finding furniture to fill the space has also been challenging. "A picture looks like a postcard tacked to the wall," she says.

The name Takk House derives from the Icelandic word "takk," (pronounced tock, like a clock) and means "thank you." Benjamin and Sicari describe the choice on their website, saying that gratitude is the basis of most celebrations. An Icelandic sheep on the logo, seen in the front window, is a nod to the root of the name and Sicari's Icelandic heritage.

The idea for a multiuse event space came from Benjamin's experience as a wedding photographer. "My clientele is all outside the region for the reason there is no venue like this," she says. When Sicari started assisting her on shoots, their drive home would include engrossing conversations about features and details they loved about an event venue. They looked for about a year for the right location. An old department store in Hoosick Falls was a top competitor, but a lack of supporting businesses, like bars and hotels, made the space not ideal. They also wanted a location that would allow them to live on-site for the first few years, and finding that proved difficult.

Takk House was the best solution for their needs. "We are lucky the building we fell in love with is sitting in downtown Troy," says Benjamin, who thinks the resurgence of Troy will be beneficial to them. Urban development through repurposing old structures has become the norm in Troy, and elsewhere. "It's so much easier to move into a space," than build a new one, says Sicari.

The pair joins the court of the "Troyalty" renaissance, alongside Heather Lavine and Vic Christopher, who has taken a series of decrepit buildings near Monument Square and turned them into city hot spots, Kevin Blodgett who has spent nearly a decade transforming the Trojan Hardware building on the corner of Congress and Fourth into an eatery, microbrew, gallery space, and forthcoming deli, and Laban Coblentz who founded the Tech Valley Center of Gravity near the Atrium building.

Benjamin describes the events that will be held at Takk House as "curated" and "offbeat." Six weddings are already planned for 2015, while a Valentine's Day masquerade ball-meets-burlesque performance and a wedding showcase are planned for early next year. A January open house will give the public a glimpse of the work done.

Benjamin and Sicari plan on reviving Takk House for many years to come. They hope to turn the gymnasium into a series of bed and breakfast-type rooms, renovate the old barbershop at the garden level of the building, and mechanize the bowling alley while maintaining its charm, like the "this job sucks" graffiti behind the lanes from pin boys who reset the bowling pins.

"There is no way to re-create what we have here," says Benjamin, and she and Sicari know that they can expand on their dreams in this study structure. "The building itself is built like an old ship," says Benjamin, and the bones and history of Takk House will keep them sailing forward as innovators in urban development, building reuse, and event locale.

Deanna Fox is a frequent contributor to the Times Union. More can be found at www.deannafox.org or on Twitter and Instagram as DeannaNFox.