One of the most storied buildings of American Fork, the Apollo Dance Hall will no longer feature dancing under its new owners. It’s been taken up a few notches.

Highland residents Justin and Becky King were looking for a place large enough to house their start-up business, which specializes in European furniture pieces, paintings and rare, eclectic items like life-size bronze sculptures of animals.

“This is not a dance hall or a playground anymore,” said Mr. King, a former restaurant general manager and an Illinois-native. But it’s still an unusual building that can be enjoyed by art browsers and aficionados of rare furniture.

Historical records show that the Apollo, which was built in 1903 under the supervision and planning of James H. Pulley, stood for decades as the social center of American Fork. “Be at the Apollo Saturday night if you want a good time,” read the American Fork Citizen of 80 years ago. “Nothing cheap but the price!”

For many in American Fork, the hall was the genesis of countless love stories. It is said that Osmond patriarch George Osmond and his wife, Olive, met there. So, when the hall came up for sale, the Osmonds bought it and renamed the hall “Apollo 8” after their eight children.

The 7,000-square-foot historic structure, which is located on 50 North Church St, was built with an unusual spring floor, the first of its type in the state. It doesn’t play well with standing art displays, so if you visit, tread softly.

The Kings’ new gallery, called “Royal Reality,” focuses on European antiques, imported through contacts in France and Belgium. The Kings also tout unique items like life-size bronze sculptures of giraffes and elephants — $30,000 apiece — that were imported from Thailand and carried into the building with a crane.

King says he has a set of chairs that once belonged to Lorenzo Snow, fifth president of the LDS Church, along with a 60-million-year-old fossil of a crocodilia jaw and an 18th century Italian painting with a silver 3D depiction of the Last Supper that weighs 40 pounds. The silver alone is worth $21,000, if melted, he said.

Incongruously nestled in a corner of the building are dozens of T-shirts for sale. The Kings said they have developed a fitted-shirt line that was influenced by European history.

The Apollo, which had to be equipped with state-of-the-art, motion-sensing cameras, houses an inventory topping $700,000, a rare sum for an Utah Valley start-up. The American Fork Police Department and the mayor’s office both have cameras pointed at the hall’s perimeter.

Still, security is not what concerns King. It’s that his passion for fine European antiques might not be shared by recession-battered locals unfamiliar with haute couture or high-end art. Success in the luxury trade may hinge on an aggressive marketing campaign to collectors nationwide, using American Fork as an affordable yet historic headquarters.

The Apollo is certainly unique in Utah County for its new collection of uber-luxury antiques. You’d have to go to Salt Lake City or Las Vegas to find an equal, King said. It’s packed with high-class pieces, including the work of famous artists. A sculpture might sell for $25,000, or a painting for $6,000.

But if a city founded on agriculture and the Mormon work ethic, seems a mismatch for a business that deals in luxury, King might find the Sundance story reassuring. The stature of the Robert Redford resort is unsurpassed worldwide, despite its Utah County roots, and it enjoys a reputation for class. Even Taos, N.M. — once an untamed Wild West town but today an arts Mecca — had to start somewhere.

The historic Apollo Dance Hall may provide just the right beginning in American Fork.

You can read more American Fork stories at http://www.afcitizen.com.