The Indianapolis Maennerchor was an organization in Indianapolis,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States, that was founded by German immigrants in 1854.

Adolph Scherrer Adolph Scherrer (1847-1925) was an American architect. He designed the 1888 Indiana State Capitol building, the Tipton County Courthouse, and Tipton County Jail and Sheriff's Home. He also designed Maennerchor Hall and the gateway and waiting st ...

designed the group's Maennerchor Hall. Similar

Maennerchor Männerchor or Maennerchor (, "men's chorus") is the name given to German language, German social clubs, primarily in the northeastern United States, Pennsylvania in particular. The earliest forms of these clubs where "singing societies" that perpe ...

clubs were founded in other cities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

History

Eduard Longerich, Gottfried and Herbert Lecker, and A. Schnellschmidt were among a group of Germans who immigrated to Indianapolis in 1848. Living together in an apartment at 75 E. Washington Street, they started singing German songs. Their first public performance was on May 28, 1855, at the Washington Hall. As their popularity and membership grew, they rented the old City Hall at 337 E. Washington Street. Presidents of the group in the 1800s included Charles R. Emmerith and Carl Bernhard Lizius. In 1906, the group laid the cornerstone for the Maennerchor Hall at the corner of Illinois and Michigan streets. However, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, they renamed the building as the Academy of Music in response to the

anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began wit ...

. For many years the Maennerchor was sponsored by John P. Frenzel, president of the city's Merchants National Bank. However, upon his death in 1933, the group lost their financial backing and were forced to leave their building and take up residence in the Athenæum. The Meannerchor's membership reached a high of 125 in the 1950s, but then declined due to changes in public tastes in entertainment. By 2018, the group had only 16 members, six of whom were in their eighties. On February 8 of that year, they announced that the final concert would be held on April 14, with their final performance at

Victory Field Victory Field is a minor league ballpark in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It is home to the Indianapolis Indians of the International League. History Victory Field opened on July 11, 1996, with the Indians falling to the Oklahom ...

on May 30. It was the oldest continuously existing male chorus in the United States.

References

External links

* {{Indiana-stub German-American culture in Indiana Culture of Indianapolis 1854 establishments in Indiana