Venue Information

The Athenæum, originally named Das Deutsche Haus (German:“The German House”), is the most ornate and best-preserved building affiliated with the German American community of Indianapolis. 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.

In the 19th century, many German immigrants made their home in Indiana. A majority of these immigrants, called Forty-Eighters, relocated to the United States following the failed Revolutions of 1848 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. In 1892, in order to preserve their German heritage the German clubs formed the Sozialer Turnverein Akti ...