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Germania Club House
The Germania Club House was a building located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, New York.[1][2] 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. HistoryThe 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.[3] 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. The initial cost of the new clubhouse was estimated at $80,000.[3] Construction of the clubhouse, at 120 Schermerhorn St., between Smith St. and Boerum Place, began in 1890 and was completed in October of the same year. The final cost of the building, including the furnishings, was $140,000.[4] The "spacious and handsome" new clubhouse quickly became a favorite venue for the fashion set, with many society balls and dances held there.[5] In the 1920s, much of Schermerhorn Street, including the architectural "treasure" of the Germania Club House, was demolished to make way for the New York City Subway's IND Fulton Street Line (now the A and C trains).[2] DescriptionIn its time, the Germania Club House was described as "unsurpassed ... [a]s a specimen of Romanesque architecture ... by any other structure in Brooklyn".[4] The Eagle and Brooklyn described the building in the following terms:
The entrance led through two "massively panelled" oak doors to a vestibule, thence a hallway leading to "a wide staircase, with newels 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."[4] 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.[4] 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.[4] The basement of the building was installed with bowling alleys,[4] and probably also contained the Club's billiard rooms and other sports facilities. References
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