Built in 1906 by real estate developers and brothers, William and Thomas Hall, this handsome Beaux-Arts town house was sold in 1909 to James F. A. Clark, partner of Clark, Ward & Co., bankers and stockbrokers. In 1926 it was … Continue reading →
Built in 1906 by real estate developers and brothers, William and Thomas Hall, this handsome Beaux-Arts town house was sold in 1909 to James F. A. Clark, partner of Clark, Ward& Co., bankers and stockbrokers. In 1926 it was… Continue reading→
Built in 1906 by real estate developers and brothers, William and Thomas Hall, this handsome Beaux-Arts town house was sold in 1909 to James F. A. Clark, partner of Clark, Ward & Co., bankers and stockbrokers. In 1926 it was bought by Mary D. Gerard, whose husband, James W. Gerard (1867-1951), served as ambassador to Germany from 1913 to 1917. Gerard issued warnings even before the outbreak of World War I on the policies of German Kaiser Wilhem II. He also published two books about his time in Germany, My Four Years in Germany (1917) und Face to Face with Kaiserism (1918). In a speech to the Ladies Aid Society he remarked that any supporters of the Kaiser in the United States should be forcibly sent back to Germany. Gerard became a leading expert on Germany in the United States – and contributed not insignificantly to German immigrants being confronted with a negative image of their homeland.
In 1960, the Federal Republic of Germany bought the building from Manny E. Duell, who had purchased it following the death of Mary D. Gerard, and who offered it for a sales price of $325,000. The Federal Republic wished to establish a cultural center here, close to “German Boulevard” (as E. 86th St. was then known) and in the vicinity of an area in which many German Jewish emigrants from the Third Reich had settled. The purpose of the center would be to promote an intellectual dialogue between the Federal Republic and the United States and to improve the image of Germany within the United States.
The first program director, Hans Egon Holthusen, brought together German intellectuals in the hope of creating an atmosphere of cultural exchange. Holthusen invited German-American political theorist Hannah Arendt, writers such as Uwe Johnson, Günter Grass and Ingeborg Bachmann as well as German politicians Konrad Adenauer and Willy Brandt. In time, German film became a major instrument in cultural dialogue and the works of a new generation of directors were so well received here that they gained increased recognition in Germany as well. American artists and intellectuals followed the invitation to participate in this dialogue — Andy Warhol was one of the notable visitors.
The Goethe-Institut formally closed the doors to its Upper East Side location to begin major renovations on the building in 2009. In 2010, there was nevertheless a cultural event hosted in the building: a production of the play Hotel Savoy, by Dominic Huber, which is based on Joseph Roth’s 1924 novel of the same name. For the performance, Roth’s novel and the building’s history were intertwined to transform the Goethe-Institut into an interactive theater experience.
Since 2009, the Goethe-Institut’s temporary home has been the 11th floor of 72 Spring Street in SoHo. The cultural events take place in the “Wyoming Building” ( 5 E. 3rd St.). The Ludlow 38 Gallery on the Lower East Side is the home of the MINI/Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies program.