DANK Haus German American Cultural Center

DANK-Haus German American Cultural Center
Established1959
Location4740 North Western Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
P:773.561.9181
Websitehttp://dankhaus.com

DANK-Haus German American Cultural Center is a cultural organization located in the Lincoln Square, Chicago community area.[1] Founded in Chicago in 1959, it seeks to preserve and promote German and German American culture.[2] The center contains the DANK museum, Scharpenberg art gallery, a library (Koegel Bibliothek), facilities for social gatherings, and offers German language classes.[3] It is a member organization of the Chicago Cultural Alliance.

The Cultural Center has its origins in the founding of the Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress (German American National Congress, or DANK), an organization dedicated to German American welfare and culture. In German, Dank, as well as danke, is used in phrases expressing thanks.[4] The headquarters of the Congress is housed in the center. Also founded in 1959, largely through the work of Leonard Enders, editor of the German-language newspaper Abendpost und Sonntagspost, the congress has chapters in different areas of the United States.[5][6]

The Cultural Center building was designed by architect Paul Gerhardt and built in 1927, as a multipurpose center for a social club. It still contains an Olympic-size swimming pool. It was purchased by DANK in 1967.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Hoekstra, Dave.; et al. (2009). The unofficial guide to Chicago (8th ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. p. 164. ISBN 9780470379998.
  2. ^ a b "About the DANK Haus German American Cultural Center". DANK Haus. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  3. ^ Heinen, Joseph C.; Susan Barton Heinen (2009). Lost German Chicago. Arcadia Press. p. 6. ISBN 9780738577142.
  4. ^ http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-german/thank [bare URL]
  5. ^ "About DANK". German American National Congress. 2012. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
  6. ^ Lohne, Raymond (2001). German Chicago Revisited. Arcadia Press. p. 85. ISBN 0738518646.