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Harmonie Club (Detroit, Michigan)
Encyclopedia
The Harmonie Club is a club located at 267 East Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan
. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980.
on the west and Harmonie Park on the east. Starting in the 1830s and 40s, this area was home to a growing number of German immigrants to Detroit. In 1849, to preserve their ethnic traditions, a group of Detroit Germans founded a singing group, the Gesang-Verein Harmonie. The club built a frame clubhouse at the corner of Lafayette and Beaubien in 1874. This frame Harmonie Club structure burned in 1893, and the club almost immediately organized a competition, open to German architects, to design a new building. Richard Raseman (the architect of the GAR Building) won the competition; the resulting building sits across from Harmonie Park.
tile. The club also offered fine dining, a tavern, card rooms, bowling alley and lounges.
in 1980, and was recognized by the city of Detroit in 1988.
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1975 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980.
History
Augustus Woodward's plan for Detroit's streets created oddly-shaped triangular blocks, including Capitol ParkCapitol Park Historic District
Capitol Park Historic District is a historic district located in Detroit, Michigan. It is roughly bounded by Grand River, Woodward and Michigan Avenues, and Washington Boulevard...
on the west and Harmonie Park on the east. Starting in the 1830s and 40s, this area was home to a growing number of German immigrants to Detroit. In 1849, to preserve their ethnic traditions, a group of Detroit Germans founded a singing group, the Gesang-Verein Harmonie. The club built a frame clubhouse at the corner of Lafayette and Beaubien in 1874. This frame Harmonie Club structure burned in 1893, and the club almost immediately organized a competition, open to German architects, to design a new building. Richard Raseman (the architect of the GAR Building) won the competition; the resulting building sits across from Harmonie Park.
Architecture
The Harmonie Club is a four-story, hipped-roof building with a basement, built of buff-colored brick and stone. The curved corner is particularly shaped to the geometry of the site. The first two stories are embellished with stonework, and the top two stories feature additional banding and arched windows on the top floor. Corinthian columns and a balustraded balcony over the entry add a classical feel. The interior of the club features classical plasterwork, dark oak paneling and PewabicPewabic Pottery
Pewabic Pottery is a studio and school located in Detroit, Michigan and founded in 1903. The studio is known for its iridescent glazes, some of which grace notable buildings such as the Shedd Aquarium and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Pewabic Pottery is on display...
tile. The club also offered fine dining, a tavern, card rooms, bowling alley and lounges.
Current use
Over time, membership in the Harmonie Club dwindled, and the club was sold in 1974. The building remained vacant until the 1990s; as of 2007, the city of Detroit planned a cultural district around Harmonie Park, to include the Harmonie Club. The club was recognized as an historical property by the state of Michigan in 1975, was placed on the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980, and was recognized by the city of Detroit in 1988.