Harmonie Club, The - Detroit, MI
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S5280ft
N 42° 20.177 W 083° 02.788
17T E 331408 N 4689142
Located on the northwest corner of East Grand River Avenue and Center Street. Streetside parking available.
Waymark Code: WM1JF3
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 05/19/2007
Views: 83
From the State of Michigan Historic Preservation Office website:
Narrative Description:
The Harmonie Club building was constructed in 1895 according to the Beaux Arts design of architect Richard Raseman. The Club is a four-story, hip-roofed, rectangular, buff colored brick structure. Above the low basement of rusticated stone, the brick first and second stories are banded while the third and fourth floors are faced with flush brick masonry.
Statement of Significance:
The Harmonie Club is significant as the long-time home of a prominent social institution important to the social life of Detroit's large German population. A key visual landmark, this Beaux Arts club is in an intact urban square in downtown Detroit.
From the Michigan Historical Marker on-site:
THE HARMONIE CLUB
Detroit's oldest musical association, the Harmonie Society, was founded in 1849 by German immigrants who wished to meet and sing Lieder (German art songs). The society's first building, Harmonie Hall, was constructed in 1874 at the corner of Lafayette Avenue and Beaubien Street. The hall burned in 1893 and the present Harmonie Club was erected in 1895. Designed by German-American architect Richard E. Raseman, the Beaux Arts structure was a Germantown landmark. Although organized and operated by Germans, the club hosted gatherings of people from many ethnic groups. It became one of Detroit's most prestigious organizations. The Harmonie Club is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
GERMANTOWN
Fleeing political unrest in their homeland, Germans began arriving in Detroit during the 1830s. Lured by state of Michigan recruiting pamphlets, German musicians, teachers and professionals joined increasing numbers of immigrants in Detroit. By 1880, twenty percent of the city's population was German-born. Most of these immigrants settled in this area, known as Germantown, between the Jefferson and Gratiot Avenue corridors. Many opened shops and businesses ranging from breweries to tailoring shops to tanneries. Harmonie Park, its name associated with the nearby Harmonie Club, was an important center of Germantown. Greek immigrants moved into a part of Germantown that later became known as Greektown.
Street address:
267 East Grand River
Detroit, MI U.S.A.
48226 - 2105
County / Borough / Parish: Wayne County
Year listed: 1980
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Social History, Architecture
Periods of significance: 1875-1899
Historic function: Social
Current function: Social
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.