Harmonie Hall

This historic German-American signing club building was once the hub of Germantown, but today it is a center for African-American culture.

Harmonie Hall.

Originally called Harmonie Hall, this building has long been a cultural center: first for German Americans, and today for African Americans. It was built in 1895 for a singing group, the Harmonie Society, and the park behind you was named after the Hall. This area used to be a part of Germantown, but today it is being rebranded as a tribute to the once-thriving African American neighborhood Paradise Valley that was demolished for I-375.

German immigrants formed the Harmonie Society in 1849. The society held a contest in 1893 to find the architect for their new building, and they ended up with the beautiful building in front of you, designed by an immigrant from Germany, Richard E Raseman. This building was a lively and noisy cultural center, even when not in use as a concert hall. On holidays, children poured into the hall to watch Easter plays, sit on Santa’s lap, and be spooked by magicians. The adults also enjoyed festivities like dances and masquerade carnivals. Large German festivals like the Saengerfest, or Singerfest, and a benefit for Germans affected by WWI were planned here. The hall was even used by non-German associated clubs like the American Carnation Society that had a large florist convention at the hall.

In 1974 as membership in the Harmonie Society declined, the club sold the building. Today, the Carr Center uses the building as a hub for African American culture. They have art galleries, youth education programs, and even musical concerts in the park! This building is one example of the ebb and flow of culture in Detroit. Have a few minutes to kill? Explore the galleries in the Carr Center, or check out the Germantown/Harmonie Club Historical Marker in the park.

Harmonie Hall is located at 311 East Grand River Avenue. It was named after the Harmonie Society, a singing club formed by German Americans in 1849. Harmonie Park gets its name from Harmonie Hall. The Society’s first concert took place at Waltz’s on Russell and Mullett, which was near the old German Workers’ society’s meeting place, Arbeiter Hall. The Harmonie Society didn’t have their own permanent meeting space until 1874 when they built a hall at Lafayette and Beaubien in Greektown, or as it was formerly known, Germantown.  

In 1893, the hall at Lafayette and Beaubien burned to the ground, and society members decided to build in a new place and have a contest to determine the architect. They chose German immigrant Richard E. Raseman to be the architect. The new hall was built not too far from the first on the northeast end of Germantown. Two of the society’s founders, Stephan and Fritz Marx, were still alive and present at the dedication of the building in 1895.

The hall was built specifically for the Harmonie Society, but it served many other functions to the German American community in Detroit. German societies had a reputation for being loud, and this one was no exception but it was not as disruptive. The hall tended to cater to families with children, and it was also a place where many important and serious business and political meetings were held. The hall hosted entertaining parties for children on almost every holiday, including Halloween, and these events seemed to endear journalists who wrote about children joyously running throughout the hall. Less joyously, but still, loudly, German American citizens met at the hall to discuss plans for German festivals (singing or otherwise) and charity events to support families affected by World War I. The latter sometimes became contentious as some people wanted to align more with the American war sentiment and others proudly supported the political direction of Germany.

Though the hall was mostly used by German Americans, it was also sometimes rented out for conferences and events that had no ethnic affiliation. The American Carnation Society held a free and open to the public conference at the hall in 1904. The society hosted an annual masquerade ball with musical and theatrical entertainment that was attended by people of various backgrounds.  

The Harmonie Society stayed in the hall until 1974. Membership had been declining, and the building was too expensive to keep up, so the building was sold. The building was empty until 2000 when the Centre Street Pub opened in the basement. The pub is no longer open, but the space is still occupied by a job training non-profit restaurant named Colors. The building is also home to the Carr Center, an African American culture and arts center that hosts musical concerts and educational art programs.

In the early 20th century, there was a neighborhood northeast of Harmonie Park known as Paradise Valley that was predominantly associated with African Americans. It was lively and full of talented musicians, successful businesses, and popular cultural venues. The whole neighborhood was demolished for the building of I-375 in the 1960s, and the residents had no choice but to disperse and try to rebuild their community elsewhere. There has lately been an effort to revitalize Harmonie Park as the new Paradise Valley. The neighborhood lost its German associations in the mid-20th century, but in the past couple of decades has been repopulated by businesses catering to the sports and downtown entertainment scene. The success of the Carr Centre could foster the growth of more African American businesses in the neighborhood, but the success of the new Paradise Valley rebranding is yet to be seen.