Are there still such things as party venues/banquet centers where they just take a safety deposit and hand you the keys and have clean-up & closing rules? And not control over everything you might want - catering, a fee for bringing your own alcohol, a fee for someone who has to serve the alcohol, etc.?

Or do I have to resort to ugly church halls/fraternal order places that may or may not let non-members rent?

Every time I try to do an Internet search for such a place, it only brings up the big-time venues—-some of whom are reluctant to waste a good Saturday in October on a birthday rather than a big-bucks wedding.