American Legion Modesto Post 74

I will be posting a two part review. This is 1 of 2.
I rented the American Legion Hall for my wedding reception on 5÷17÷14. About a year before the event I googled the hall and was sad to see that there were no reviews and no photos of the hall’s interior posted online; so I checked out a key ($ 25 fee, returned when the key is returned) and for the price I was happy with what was available.
To clarify a few things before hand: The decorator I hired was not paid to set up tables and chairs, so that became my job the morning of the wedding. I pre-​paid the wedding photographer for a set number of hours. Our event was not catered & we needed the kitchen to finish cooking the food and to reheat it when guests started to arrive. Our event was ‘scheduled’ to happen from 4pm — 11pm.
Renting the hall was no problem at all. I paid the rental fee, deposit, insurance and security through the Parks and Recreation Department, located in downtown Modesto. The Parks & Recreation employees were friendly and professional.
PRO’s: The rental fees were within my budget and they allow you to make payments. The hall has a beautiful deck (which we used to take our wedding photos) shaded by large trees, a bar area, a full kitchen and large main room. The main room has lights that can be dimmed, which worked perfectly when it was time to dance! Tables and chairs are included in the rental. A stage is also available for use. The hall is ‘yours’ to use from 6am the day of your event until 1am the morning after; for a total of 19 hours. If you use debit/​credit to pay your deposit, it is supposed to be refunded to you within 5 business days.
The majority of issues i encountered took place on the day of my event, my wedding day. If I were to assign blame I would have to say that building maintenance’s lack of professionalism was the root of the majority of the issues I encountered. Building maintenance works with the Parks & Recreation department, but in my experience they did not coordinate very well due to the fact that my event was held on a weekend, when the Parks & Rec department was closed.
CON’s: The rules for decorating are strict. The deck had red fire ants, was not swept before our event and the outlets on the deck have all been vandalized. The bar area has 3 – 4 sinks, all of which were clogged with dirt and stagnant water. The windows throughout the hall have vertical blinds, all of them have missing slats; giving the interior a ‘run down’ feel. A few of the outlets inside the main hall are taped off with duct tape, I assume this means they were not working.