German American Shooting Society

East Village

Art & Culture | History

A Landmark Building from the German "Kleindeutschland" Days

German American Shooting Society Saint Mark's Place

German American Shooting Society East Village

About German American Shooting Society

& why it made the Carpe City list

Perhaps you already know from one of our other East Village posts, but if you don’t, in the 1880’s this area was the heart of Kleindeutchland, or Little Germany.
In the 1800’s a large number of German immigrants settled here, so much so that by 1885, the East Village had the third largest German-speaking population in the world, behind only Berlin and Vienna.
Many people think about New York’s early days and associate that time with the Irish (think Leo’s Gangs of New York), Italian (every mob movie every made) and Jewish settlers, but what you probably didn’t know is that in the late 1800’s, a full 30% of NYC’s population was of German heritage.
Okay, back to the Shooting Society:
- Built in 1889, this German Renaissance Revival clubhouse was a popular society meeting place for the residents of Kleindeutchland.
- It housed a saloon, lodgings, a restaurant, meeting spaces, a bowling alley and, of course, a shooting range where members could practice their marksmanship.
- You can still see the terra cotta relief of rifles and a target on the facade.
- The seal above reads “Einigkeit Macht Stark” which means “Unity Provides Strength”
- The building received a landmark designation in 2001.

By: Christi Scofield

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