The Artifact: A Postcard of The Germania Institute
“From this hasty sketch the reader can form an idea of the size and capacity of the institute which is estimated, will cost between $12,000 and $13,000 and will not only prove an ornament to that locality but a monument to the liberality and enterprise of the society whose name it bears, and under whose auspices it is erected.” Daily Courier, May 12, 1877.
Located at 1003 Lapeer, the cornerstone of the Germania Clubhouse – originally the building’s official title was the Germania Institute – was laid on July 5, 1877. Organized in 1856, according to author James C. Mills: “of all the German societies in Michigan, the Germania stands second to none in the State.” Although this was not the first or only structure constructed by the group at this location, it was the organization’s home for almost a century.
The design of the Germania Institute will seem vaguely familiar for those of you who read last week’s artifact post about the East Saginaw Arbeiter Hall. Although constructed several years after the Germania Institute, the Arbeiter was designed by the same architect, Fred W. Hollister. When the Arbeiter Hall was completed, the newspaper remarked on the two buildings’ resemblance. This was almost certainly a deliberate design decision. Separated by only a couple of blocks of residences, the two structures were visual anchors in the neighborhood and were a reminder of the German American heritage of many of the district’s residents.
In 1970 the Germania Club constructed a new headquarters at 2099 Wheeler. The new facility included a golf course. The 1877 building was sold and was severely damaged by a fire in 1972. A second blaze in 1973 destroyed the building completely.
At its new location, the Germania continued to thrive; however, by 2010 declining membership made the club unsustainable. On January 2, 2011, The Saginaw News reported: “The 154-year-old institution ceased to exist at the stroke of midnight.”
The Castle Museum’s collection includes original architectural drawings for the Germania Institute and drawings for later alterations. (Among the many items relating to the Germania in the Castle Museum’s collection are the drawings for the Germania Building, a commercial structure on the southeast corner of East Genesee and South Baum. However, that is another artifact and another story.) #ArtifactSat
Project Manager
7mo👏 👏