Germania Club House
Encyclopedia
The Germania Club House was a notable building located in Brooklyn, New York. Designed by Frank Freeman
and completed in 1890, it was considered one of Brooklyn's finest examples of Romanesque Revival architecture. It was demolished in the 1920s to make way for a subway.
By 1888, the club's prosperity and membership had increased to such an extent that the board decided to raise funds for the construction of an entirely new clubhouse, expressly designed to accommodate the club's diversity of activities. The architect chosen to design the new building was prominent Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman. Freeman may have been favored for the commission due to his design, completed in 1889, of the acclaimed private residence
for Herman Behr, the Germania Club's President. Initial cost of the new clubhouse was estimated at $80,000.
Construction of the clubhouse, at 120 Schermerhorn St., between Smith St. and Boerum Place, began in 1890 and was completed in October the same year. Final cost of the building, including the furnishings, was $140,000. The "spacious and handsome" new clubhouse quickly became a favorite venue for the fashion set, with many society balls and dances held there.
In the 1920s, much of Schermerhorn St., including the architectural "treasure" of the Germania Club House, was demolished to make way for the new A and C subway line.
The entrance led through two "massively panelled" oak
doors to a vestibule
, thence a hallway leading to "a wide staircase, with newel
s and balustrades of white oak
." To the left of the hallway was the main reception room, 100 by 40 feet, with a vaulted ceiling upheld by two rows of "massive" Corinthian columns. To the right of the hall was a ladies' reception room, reading rooms and library, and servants' apartments. A mezzanine
floor between the first and second floors contained "a large reading room, private apartments for dinner parties, hat and cloak rooms and a café."
The second floor was occupied principally by the grand dining hall, decorated with "panelled wainscoting of white oak and a high vaulted ceiling with groined arches." Running the entire length of one side of the building, it was designed to seat up to 600. The remainder of the floor was occupied by employees' apartments. A second mezzanine floor on this level contained the superintendent's office, along with a number of cloakrooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms. The third floor incorporated "ladies' parlors, waiting and toilet rooms" and a large kitchen.
The fourth (top) floor housed a ballroom/theater, with an auditorium
100 by 64 feet in size, and capable of seating up to 1000, including 250 in a horseshoe gallery
that ran around all four walls. A stage, 60 feet wide by 28 feet deep, occupied one end of the floor, along with green rooms and dressing rooms.
The basement of the building was installed with bowling alleys, and probably also contained the Club's billiard rooms and other sports facilities.
Frank Freeman
Frank Freeman was a Canadian-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York. A leading exponent of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style who later adopted Neoclassicism, Freeman has been called "Brooklyn's greatest architect"...
and completed in 1890, it was considered one of Brooklyn's finest examples of Romanesque Revival architecture. It was demolished in the 1920s to make way for a subway.
History
The Germania Club of Brooklyn was first organized in 1859. Its original clubhouse was located on the northwest corner of Clinton St. and Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. In 1865 the club moved to 164 Atlantic Avenue.By 1888, the club's prosperity and membership had increased to such an extent that the board decided to raise funds for the construction of an entirely new clubhouse, expressly designed to accommodate the club's diversity of activities. The architect chosen to design the new building was prominent Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman. Freeman may have been favored for the commission due to his design, completed in 1889, of the acclaimed private residence
Herman Behr Mansion
The Herman Behr Mansion is a notable building located in Brooklyn, New York. Constructed in 1888-89 to a design of Brooklyn architect Frank Freeman, it has been described as "the city's finest Romanesque Revival house".-History:...
for Herman Behr, the Germania Club's President. Initial cost of the new clubhouse was estimated at $80,000.
Construction of the clubhouse, at 120 Schermerhorn St., between Smith St. and Boerum Place, began in 1890 and was completed in October the same year. Final cost of the building, including the furnishings, was $140,000. The "spacious and handsome" new clubhouse quickly became a favorite venue for the fashion set, with many society balls and dances held there.
In the 1920s, much of Schermerhorn St., including the architectural "treasure" of the Germania Club House, was demolished to make way for the new A and C subway line.
Description
In its time, the Germania Club House was described as "unsurpassed ... [a]s a specimen of Romanesque architecture ... by any other structure in Brooklyn". The Eagle and Brooklyn described the building in the following terms:It is four stories in height, built of light colored brick, terra cottaTerra cottaTerracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
and brownstoneBrownstoneBrownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
. The front on Schermerhorn street is ninety feet in width. The basement is built of rough hewn brownstone. A flight of stone steps, converging towards the top, leads to a wide arched doorway, supported by four finely carved pillars of red sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, with CorinthianCorinthian orderThe Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
foliage and floral designs in terra cotta. To the right of the entrance the building is flanked by a huge circular tower, rising from the basement to a point just above the fourth story, where it terminates in a conical roof. There are four rows of arched and mullioned windows in the tower, with panes of bent glass.
On the opposite side of the building, between the first and second stories, a wide bay window projects outward for some distance, its roof forming a balcony of considerable dimensions, enclosed by rails of dark brownstone. The features of this window are two panes of bent glass, eight by ten feet in size, which are said to be the largest of their kind in the country. Above the arch of the doorway four pilasterPilasterA pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, faced with terra cotta flower and basket work, and capped with elaborately carved brownstone copingsCoping (architecture)Coping , consists of the capping or covering of a wall.A splayed or wedge coping slopes in a single direction; a saddle coping slopes to either side of a central high point....
, extend to the height of the building, terminating at either corner of the gableGableA gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
. At every suitable space on the front of the club house there is an abundance of delicated carvings and moulding, while each of the windows is supported on sheaves of slender columns, crowned with richly foliated capitalsCapital (architecture)In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
.
The entrance led through two "massively panelled" oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
doors to a vestibule
Vestibule (architecture)
A vestibule is a lobby, entrance hall, or passage between the entrance and the interior of a building.The same term can apply to structures in modern or ancient roman architecture. In modern architecture vestibule typically refers to a small room or hall between an entrance and the interior of...
, thence a hallway leading to "a wide staircase, with newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...
s and balustrades of white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
." To the left of the hallway was the main reception room, 100 by 40 feet, with a vaulted ceiling upheld by two rows of "massive" Corinthian columns. To the right of the hall was a ladies' reception room, reading rooms and library, and servants' apartments. A mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
floor between the first and second floors contained "a large reading room, private apartments for dinner parties, hat and cloak rooms and a café."
The second floor was occupied principally by the grand dining hall, decorated with "panelled wainscoting of white oak and a high vaulted ceiling with groined arches." Running the entire length of one side of the building, it was designed to seat up to 600. The remainder of the floor was occupied by employees' apartments. A second mezzanine floor on this level contained the superintendent's office, along with a number of cloakrooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms. The third floor incorporated "ladies' parlors, waiting and toilet rooms" and a large kitchen.
The fourth (top) floor housed a ballroom/theater, with an auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
100 by 64 feet in size, and capable of seating up to 1000, including 250 in a horseshoe gallery
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
that ran around all four walls. A stage, 60 feet wide by 28 feet deep, occupied one end of the floor, along with green rooms and dressing rooms.
The basement of the building was installed with bowling alleys, and probably also contained the Club's billiard rooms and other sports facilities.