DANK Haus German American Cultural Center facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1959 |
|---|---|
| Location | 4740 North Western Avenue Chicago, IL 60625 P:773.561.9181 |
The DANK-Haus German American Cultural Center is a cool place in Chicago's Lincoln Square, Chicago neighborhood. It was started in Chicago in 1959. Its main goal is to keep German and German American culture alive and share it with others.
Inside, you'll find the DANK museum and the Scharpenberg art gallery. There's also a library called the Koegel Bibliothek. It has spaces for events and even teaches German language classes. It's part of the Chicago Cultural Alliance, a group of cultural organizations.
What is DANK-Haus?
The Cultural Center started because of an organization called the Deutsch Amerikanischer National Kongress. This name means the German American National Congress, or DANK for short. This group helps German Americans and promotes their culture. In German, Dank and danke mean 'thanks'.
The main office for this Congress is right inside the center. The Congress was also started in 1959. A big part of this was thanks to Leonard Enders. He was the editor of a German newspaper. Today, the Congress has groups all over the United States.
The Building's History
The building itself is quite old and interesting. An architect named Paul Gerhardt designed it. It was built in 1927 to be a place for a social club. It even still has an Olympic-size swimming pool! DANK bought the building in 1967.
See also
- Germans in Chicago
