{"id":683,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:48:37","latitude":39.77426009999999934052539174444973468780517578125,"longitude":-86.160596400000002859087544493377208709716796875,"title":"The Indianapolis Maennerchor","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/c5b638cf571c945a87f4e92dc80cb150.jpg","address":"104 W Michigan St, Indianapolis, IN 46204, United States","all_locations":[],"zoom":8,"creator":["Caroline Emenaker"],"description":"In 1854, six German men founded the Indianapolis Maennerchor or “Men’s Choir”. Their members formed the group to keep their German heritage alive in Indianapolis. Singing songs from Germany, their first public concert was on May 28, 1855. Within a year, they had turned from a small amateur choir to a recognizable group in the German American music scene. They performed in the National Saengerfest, or song festival, in Cincinnati in 1856. Almost eight hundred guests and forty-one musical societies attended a year later when they hosted the event in Indianapolis. <br />\r\n<br />\r\nNineteenth-century German immigrants in the United States made large contributions to American culture. The Maennerchor was just one of the recreational traditions brought over from Germany. German immigrants became one of the biggest immigrant populations in Indianapolis. They built large buildings meant to house social events. Sports clubs, playgrounds, and even bowling alleys were influenced by German culture. Concert halls for singing societies and the theatre were essential to their lives. By the late nineteenth century, men’s choirs were putting on performances in Indianapolis for thousands of audience members. Almost 50 years later, the National Saengerfest included seventy-five thousand visitors. It solidified Indianapolis as a site of German American culture.  <br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe Maennerchor was not the only German performance group in Indianapolis. A symphony orchestra was created in 1895. Other societies like the Liederkranz, Frohsinn, and Lyra Society formed as well, inspired by the Maennerchor. A Mrs. Louis Schulmeyer organized the ladies’ section of the Indianapolis Social Turnverein in her home in 1878.  <br />\r\n<br />\r\nThe Maennerchor had their final performance in 2018. Yet their legacy, and that of other German musical groups, continues in the orchestras, choirs, and music schools still in the city.","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"Location is approximate, building no longer exists.","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["<p>Devadasan, Neil. “Germans.” Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, April 25, 2021. <a href=\"https://indyencyclopedia.org/germans/\">https://indyencyclopedia.org/germans/</a>.</p>","<p>Draegert, Eva. “Cultural History of Indianapolis: Music, 1875-1890.” <em>Indiana Magazine of History</em> 53, no. 3 (1957): 265–304. <a href=\"http://www.jstor.org/stable/27788475\">http://www.jstor.org/stable/27788475</a>.</p>","<p>Library of Congress, “Building Institutions, Shaping Tastes, German, Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History, Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress, <a href=\"https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/german/building-institutions-shaping-tastes/\">https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/german/building-institutions-shaping-tastes/</a>.</p>","<p>Snyder, Suzanne Gail. \"The 'Maennerchor' Tradition in the United States: A Historical Analysis of its Contribution to American Musical Culture.\" Order No. 9212932, The University of Iowa, 1991. <a href=\"https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/maennerchor-tradition-united-states-historical/docview/303926960/se-2\">https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/maennerchor-tradition-united-states-historical/docview/303926960/se-2</a>.</p>"],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/c5b638cf571c945a87f4e92dc80cb150.jpg":{"id":3337,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Maennerchor Hall","description":"In 1907, the Maennerchor outgrew its headquarters on Washington Street and moved to Maennerchor Hall. The hall was built for their performances and was in use until 1946, when Indiana University purchased the building. It was demolished in the 1970s.  | <a href=\"https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p16797coll35/id/2749/rec/2\">Indiana Historical Society</a> | ca. 1950 | Larry Foster","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/c5b638cf571c945a87f4e92dc80cb150.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/6e6ac8d6c6db94a2d9736c6ebbf06ce6.jpg":{"id":3338,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Festival Program","description":"This is another program from the 25th Anniversary Festival.  | <a href=\"https://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/Maennerchor/id/4511/rec/2\">Indiana University Indianapolis Digital Collections</a> |  June 18-20, 1880 | Indianapolis Maennerchor","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/6e6ac8d6c6db94a2d9736c6ebbf06ce6.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/c844954142c4fd5f896371e07f68e725.jpg":{"id":3339,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"The Grand Carnival","description":"The Grand Carnival was held in Park Theatre on February 6, 1880. This drawing is from the event’s pamphlet.  | <a href=\"https://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/Maennerchor/id/4511/rec/2\">Indiana University Indianapolis Digital Collections</a> | February 6, 1880 | Indianapolis Maennerchor","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/c844954142c4fd5f896371e07f68e725.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/543017fb636371e62d9fc68b7821b2b4.jpg":{"id":3340,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"25th Anniversary Program","description":"The Maennerchor performed for its 25th anniversary in 1880. This is the program for the festival.  | <a href=\"https://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/Maennerchor/id/4611/rec/1\">Indiana University Indianapolis Digital Collections</a> | June 18-20, 1880 | Indianapolis Maennerchor","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/543017fb636371e62d9fc68b7821b2b4.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/fullsize/add0ca8e28107f52ade4859e30a16beb.jpg":{"id":3341,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"1882 Concert Program","description":"In 1882, the Maennerchor performed at Old City Hall on East Washington Street.  | <a href=\"https://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/Maennerchor/id/4493/rec/6\">Indiana University Indianapolis Digital Collections</a> | December 13, 1882 | Indianapolis Maennerchor","thumbnail":"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/square_thumbnails/add0ca8e28107f52ade4859e30a16beb.jpg"},"https://discoverindianahistory.org.curatescape7.reclaim.hosting/files/original/1bbde72b5e0b2a6bd932878e0c8743b8.mp4":{"id":3342,"mime-type":"video/mp4","title":"Maennerchor Performance","description":"The Maennerchor was the oldest continuously existing male choir in the United States. In 2018, they had their final performance on Victory Field, 164 years after they were created in 1854.  | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UovXO0gnZok | May 30, 2018"}}}