Teutonia Hall – Buena Vista Street, Yonkers, New York

Early in the 20th Century, Yonkers was home to many ethnically based social clubs and organizations. Mirroring the US at that time, newly immigrated groups would settle in geographic proximity to each other to build a new life in America. Establishing social clubs, brotherhoods and houses of worship were some of the ways ny which they could help each other, and build the community, and assimilate into US society.

One such group were the Germans who established a "singing and literary society" in Yonkers in 1856, at which time it had a membership of eleven and was known as "Yonkers Liederkrantz." In 1891 membership had grown to some two hundred men and women and was known as the "Teutonia." To accommodate their social and cultural needs, the organization erected a two-story masonry building with terra cotta and cast iron details – at a cost of $32,000 – on the west side of Buena Vista Avenue near Hudson Street. It contained a large assembly hall, dining room, committee rooms, a pool room, and bowling alleys. Vocal and instrumental concerts were given once a month during the winter.

Today, the building has been unoccupied for many years and was recently sold to a developer. When completed, the hall is expected to become the site of a 25-story residential tower with 412 units and a 550-space parking garage. The developers of the Teutonia project, Metro Partners, plan to demolish much of the aging music hall while preserving its historic facade.