The Athenæum, originally named ''Das Deutsche Haus'' (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: "The German House"), is the most ornate and best-preserved building affiliated with the

German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

community of

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

. Once used as a German American '' Turnverein'' and clubhouse, it currently houses many groups, organizations, and businesses. The Athenæum is located across Massachusetts Avenue from the Old National Centre. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on February 21, 1973. On October 31, 2016, it was named the 41st

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in Indiana.

History

In the 19th century, many German immigrants made their home in

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 ...

. A majority of these immigrants, called

Forty-Eighters The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the Revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In the German Confederation, the Forty-Eighters favoured unification of Germany, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human ...

, relocated to 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

following the failed

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

in the German states. These immigrants quickly formed musical, political, and social clubs after the German idea of club life, including the '' Männerchor'', '' Turnverein'', and ''Liederkranz''. Many of these immigrants believed in the philosophy of

Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (11August 177815October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics ( Turner) movement as well as influencing the German Campaign of 1813, during which a coalition o ...

. In 1892, to preserve their German heritage, the German clubs formed the ''Sozialer Turnverein Aktiengesellschaft'' (

: Social Gymnastics Association), an association to finance the building of a clubhouse. The clubhouse was built as a house of culture for the mind and body. All the German clubs would be united under a single roof. For a cost of $32,000, two lots were purchased at the corner of Michigan and New Jersey streets. A German neighborhood called

Lockerbie Square Lockerbie Square Historic District is a national historic district on the National Register of Historic Places within Indianapolis, Indiana, listed on February 23, 1973, with a boundary increase on July 28, 1987. It is noted for it ...

, also known as Germantown, surrounded the clubhouse. Construction of the East Wing began in May 1893, and was finished in 1894. The West Wing construction started in 1897 and was completed in 1898. German American architects Bernard Vonnegut Sr. (grandfather of Indianapolis novelist

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

) and Arthur Bohn designed both wings. It was called Das Deutsche Haus and hosted many organizations, including the German-American Veterans Society, the German-American School Society, the Socialer Turnverein Women's Club, the German Ladies' Aid Society, and the Turner Building and Savings Association. There were 500 members by 1896. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs In 1897, the ''Musikverein'' (Music Society) was founded at Das Deutsche Haus; it included a 60-piece orchestra, a male choir, and a mixed choir. The Athenaeum Orchestra is now the oldest orchestra in Indianapolis. In 1907, Das Deutsche Haus agreed to house the Normal College of the American Gymnastic Union in its east wing. The

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

trained physical education teachers for schools across the country.

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

incorporated the school in 1941 as a department of the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. It claims to be the oldest school of physical education in the United States. With the anti-German sentiments of World War I, the clubhouse renamed itself the Athenæum. Today, the Athenaeum is operated by the nonprofit Athenaeum Foundation.

Architecture

The front part of the building is the East Wing. It is built in the German

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

. The wing has a gable roof. There is a three storied brick tower with a

conical A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines c ...

slate roof. The entrance is flanked by two Roman Doric columns, and is arched with a semicircle of limestone. The upper windows are arched and the gymnasium has bullseye-shaped windows. The West Wing is done in the German

style and incorporates German architecture with Renaissance elements. It has a steep pitched

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus ...

. This wing also has a three storied brick tower but it has a curved

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. Th ...

and spire. The wing has various window styles and some windows have stained glass. Roman Doric columns are placed beside the arched entrance. At each end of the main roof there are copper covered

cupolas In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

. The wing has a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

above its

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

. The faces of the stone

voussoir A voussoir () is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, which is used in building an arch or vault. Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. T ...

s of the arches are projected outward. The facade is decorated with terra cotta

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

s. One figure in particular is

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

, the building's namesake, who is placed in the top arch.

Facilities

The Athenæum Foundation nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving the historical Athenæum and serving the Indianapolis community. The foundation sponsors events and programs throughout the year. Free tours of the Athenæum are offered twice a month between March and December. Group tours can also be scheduled. In the Athenaeum is the Rathskeller Restaurant, which is the oldest restaurant in the city.

Events

In October 2009, the Athenaeum held its first annual GermanFest. The event, held outside on New Jersey Street, featured the Männerchor, the Saenger Chor, Meisterwinds,

dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: " badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety o ...

races, dancing, children's activities, and a visit from Mayor Greg Ballard.

References

External links

*
Athenæum Foundation websiteThe Rathskeller Restaurant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athenaeum (Das Deutsche Haus) Historic American Buildings Survey in Indiana Cultural infrastructure completed in 1898 1898 establishments in Indiana Buildings and structures in Indianapolis German-American culture in Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Indianapolis Renaissance Revival architecture in Indiana Clubhouses in Indiana Tourist attractions in Indianapolis Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana National Historic Landmarks in Indianapolis