The German Turnverein "gymnastics" movement in Chicago began in 1852.

Chicago’s Forgotten Turner Halls: Turnverein Vorwaerts
At 2431 West Roosevelt Road in Chicago is Vorwaerts (Vorwärts = 'Forward' in German) Turner Hall, a castle-like structure that stands as one of the few remnants of a former German neighborhood on the Near West Side. There were once dozens of Turner Halls all over Chicago, but Vorwaerts is one of only two that remain in the city. This mysterious looking building is a living artifact of a group that began in Chicago in 1852 and continues the same traditions today.

Vorwaerts Turner Hall at 2431 West Roosevelt Road was given Chicago Landmark status on November 18, 2009.

Birth of a Movement
The Turnverein (German for “gymnastic union”) is a gymnastic movement founded in Germany during the time of Napoleon’s occupation. The founder of the movement, Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, believed that the key to resisting and defeating Napoleon was a physically fit and disciplined fighting force. He served as a commander of a volunteer force that was instrumental in defeating Napoleon’s army. After the war, he continued efforts to increase discipline and physical fitness in the German population. He would later invent fixtures of gymnastics still in use today: the balance beam, the horse, rings, parallel bars, and the horizontal bar.

The Turnverein and Failed Revolution
There were very few German immigrants in Chicago’s early history, until the German revolution of 1848. The liberal and middle classes (including large numbers of Turnverein) fought against the aristocracy for workers’ rights and reduced taxation and censorship. Their attempt was unsuccessful, and the result greatly impacted the demographics of Chicago and the country. The failed revolution led to an influx of educated and skilled immigration to America, particularly the Midwest. The national Turnverein formed in Cincinnati in the same year as the revolution (1848). The first Chicago Turnverein formed a few years later in 1852. Though they embraced their German history with words and song, they were deeply patriotic for their new home in America.

Turnverein helped Abraham Lincoln get elected president. They proudly served in the Union Army in the United States during the Civil War (1861-1865). They also served as bodyguards for Lincoln during his inauguration, and later during his funeral.

Early Rise of Turnverein Vorwaerts
The First Turnverein Vorwaerts Hall and the 1877 Riot

Riot after police raid furniture workers meeting in first Vorwaerts Hall.
August 18, 1877, Harper’s Weekly.

Like many social clubs, the Turnverein formed in local chapters. The Turnverein Vorwaerts (“Forward Turners”) first formed in 1867, and within the same year occupied a building on 12th Street (now Roosevelt). That building no longer stands, but an interior illustration of it was included in the August 18, 1877 issue of Harper’s Weekly. A meeting of furniture workers at the hall erupted into a riot with police after the latter claimed they were provoked. According to the Chicago Historical Society (now Chicago History Museum), this was part of the backdrop of events leading up to the Haymarket Riot:

One eyewitness described the police as “a uniformed mob.” The raid led to a successful lawsuit by the furniture workers’ union that resulted in the condemnation of the police and the affirmation of workers’ right to peaceful assembly. The bad feelings generated by this incident became another cause of the mutual distrust that was part of the backdrop of Haymarket. —Chicago Historical Society

A New Hall for Turnverein Vorwaerts
In the 1880s another wave of German immigrants arrived in Chicago, many the result of an Anti-Socialist Law. This led to a swelling in the ranks of Turners across the city, including the hall on 12th Street. In October 1896, it was announced in the Chicago Daily Tribune that a new building would be constructed for this growing movement. The building’s architect was George L. Pfeiffer, also a member and president of the Turnverein Vorwaerts.

WILL DEDICATE THEIR HALL.Turnverein Vorwaerts Arrange a Program.

The Turnverein Vorwaerts, one of the oldest and strongest German=American organizations in Chicago, will dedicate their new hall Sunday. The gymnasium is at 1164-68 West Twelfth Street, near Western Avenue. The new gymnasium is fitted with the best and most modern apparatus, two bowling alleys, built according to the rules of the American Bowling League, and eight shower baths. All turning organizations in Chicago, as well as singing societies and sither clubs, will take part in the dedication exercises. The exercises will consist of all kinds of gymnastic performances and songs rendered by different singing societies. Hon. Harry Rubens, one of the oldest members of the Turnverein Vorwaerts, will make the dedication speech. Extra streetcars will run on Ogden Avenue, Western Avenue, and Twelfth Street all day, and extra night cars on Twelfth Street in the evening, to accommodate visitors. --January 16, 1897, Chicago Inter Ocean

The Vorwaerts Turner Hall consisted of three buildings in one; two adjacent structures and a gymnasium in the rear that had 40-foot ceilings and a capacity of 1,000 people.

Good Health
The extra-large front gable is rich in artistry and symbolism. It also features a cartouche with letters representing “Healthy, Upright, Strong, True.”

The phrase "Gut Heil," translates as good health.

The face appearing in the relief is Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, founder of the Turner Movement. Its early roots were focused on creating a population able to resist Napoleon’s occupying army, but over time evolved to promote general health and well-being among its members and the neighborhoods in which they lived. The fruits of their early efforts in Chicago are evident today, in the form of physical education:

In 1884, Turner members of the Illinois District were responsible for introducing physical education classes into the Chicago Public Schools and provided the first instructors for these classes. In 1895, these Illinois Turners established the first playground in Chicago in Douglas Park and for many years the Turners provided the supervisors and directors for all the playgrounds in the Chicago parks. One of the parks located on the north side of Chicago is named in honor of Turner Theodore Gross who was the supervisor of the Chicago playgrounds for many years. —Illinois District of American Turners

Health and Good Beer
Beyond their work to promote good health, facilities for leisure and recreation were part of the new building. The Turner Hall contained two bowling alleys, showers, two bars (one for members and one for the public), and a two-story residence for the building manager above the lower level.

Establishment of Illinois Turner Camp

Construction of Illinois Turner Camp in Algonquin, Illinois. (circa 1915)

Around 1914, the Illinois Turner Camp at 1 North River Road, Algonquin, Illinois, opened to promote physical fitness and athletic instruction. The Turnverein Vorwaerts were one of the original founders of the new camp. 

Turner Camp Map. Illinois District Turners.
CLICK MAP FOR FULL-SIZE VIEW.

Gymnastics and physical fitness were central to the idea of Turner Camp, but it also served as a valuable retreat for Turners young and old. There are 267 cottages on the grounds, many of which have passed through generations of Turner families.

Mary Ann Aenbert and Alyce Vogel on the balance beam at Illinois Turner Camp, 1954.

Social Justice, Prohibition, and Immigrant Life During Wartime
The 1852 founding of Turnverein Vorwaerts was in part based on their staunch anti-slavery views, so it’s not surprising that the hall frequently hosted political activities that aligned with their liberal or socialist views. One group was the United Societies for Local Self-Government. In the 1920 article above, it is noted that a near-riot occurred during the meeting between that group and Congressman Britten over the topic of prohibition. An earlier declaration highlighted the cultural fault lines exposed by Southerners who pushed for prohibition and their negative feelings toward immigrants:

A meeting was called by the United Society for Local Self Government, to establish the battle program for individual liberty. The propaganda made in the south by the Prohibitionists not only ruins the existence of the saloon-keepers and clubs associations, but menaces the activities of all immigrants, especially the Germans.

This manifested again in World War Two when in 1938 a band of vigilantes stormed the hall expecting to find Nazi sympathizers. Instead, they found people playing a basketball game.

POLICE DISPERSE ANTI-NAZI CROWD AT TURNER HALL.
Find a Ball Game Instead of Hitler Partisans.

More than 100 young men, supposed members of an anti-Nazi vigilante organization, invaded the Vorwaerts Turner hall at 2431 Roosevelt Road last night. They found only a basketball game instead of the Silver Shirt Legion meeting they were looking for, and departed without starting any battles.

Policemen who were summoned said that a crowd was milling about in front of the hall when they arrived. Its members dispersed, however, at the police command. It is believed the invading group, which by that time had mixed with the crowd, were the same men who precipitated a riot Monday evening at a Silver Shirt meeting at 5825 Irving Park Road.

Opposed to Foreign "isms."
Henry Eisholz, who conducts a saloon on the first floor of the Vorwaerts hall, said he assured the invaders that the hall was never used for pro-Nazi gatherings; that the association directors had forbidden such use, and were opposed to the promotion of any foreign "isms."

"There were fifty to 100 carloads of men in the crowd," Eisholz declared, "and they acted plenty tough until they were convinced I was telling the truth." --Chicago Daily Tribune, November 30, 1938

The Turners used the opportunity to state they were opposed to any foreign ideologies, and those pro-Nazi gatherings were forbidden. A long-held tenet of American Turnverein is integration into local society, and citizenship a requirement for membership. After the war, the Turnverein Vorwaerts changed their name to the English version of their name, Forward Turners.

Neighborhood Changes as the Turners Move On
The Decline of Vorwaerts Turner Hall and Surrounding German Population

Turner Hall some time prior to 1939.

As a result of WWII, German immigration stopped and earlier residents moved out of the Near West Side communities. Membership in societies and clubs also declined rapidly, and the West Side Turner Hall saw fewer patrons and gatherings. By the mid-1940s, Turner Hall neighborhoods were deteriorating. Several attempts were made to merge the Turner societies located on the north and west sides of Chicago.

In March 1945 the Forward Turners sold their Turner Hall at 2431 W. Roosevelt Road and rented the gymnasium and hall facilities at the Olympic Building located at 6100 West Cermak Road in Cicero, Illinois.

The Swiss Turners were forced to abandon their gym program at the Swiss Clubhouse, 635 West Webster Street, because of the huge amount of rent they were asked to pay for only a few classes. These developments, among others, led to the Illinois District of the American Turners forming an 'amalgamation committee' in November 1948, attended by delegates of the five north side Turner societies, namely; Chicago, Forward, Lincoln, Social, and Swiss. 

What’s Left of the Former West Side German Community
The Near West Side was once home to some of the earliest German immigrant communities, and this rapid influx of educated and skilled people created a bustling commercial district with ornately designed buildings. But today few architectural artifacts remain. Decades of neglect, segregation, and few employment opportunities contributed to the loss of commercial and residential infrastructure.

Vorwaerts Turner Hall once had a gymnasium behind the front two structures. The gymnasium was demolished in 2007.

Demolition of buildings on the Near West Side left wide swaths of vacant lots. But the area close to downtown is rapidly changing as the area redevelops with new construction. New development near Vorwaerts Turner Hall appeared with a sign advertising “luxury homes.”

The Forward Turners Move to Cicero

Sokol Slavsky/Olympic Theatre

The Forward Turners (as they became known then) sold the building in 1945. Without a permanent space, they rented facilities at 6100 West Cermak Road in Cicero. The building in Cicero was built for Sokol Slavsky in 1924. 

Social Turner Hall at Belmont and Paulina in 1956, no longer extant.

Sokols are a Czech youth and gymnastics movement with activities and traditions very similar to Turners. Sokol Slavsky lost the building during the Great Depression and after served as a ballroom and theater, and rented out space to groups like the Forward Turners. Though space was well suited for the Forward Turners, it was only a temporary home.

Social, Swiss, and Forward Turners Unite
The 1950s were a time of upheaval for many social and fraternal organizations, especially for Turner Societies. Children and grandchildren of immigrants that formed these groups were leaving the old neighborhoods and shared less interest in being a member of a Turner Hall. In 1954, the Forward Turners and other Turner groups held a series of meetings to discuss merging and a location for a new building. During this time, the City of Chicago notified the Social Turners of plans to condemn their building at Belmont and Paulina (above) in order to build a parking facility. In the same year, the Forward, Social, and Swiss Turners officially merged and became American Turners-Northwest Chicago, holding their first meeting at the Social Turner Hall which would soon be demolished.

In February 1956,  the Forward Turners changed its name to 'American Turners-Northwest Chicago' and the Social and Swiss Turners merged with this new society (the old Forward Turners).

The American Turners–Northwest Chicago purchased land at Belmont and Natoma in 1956 and built a modern facility to host events, gymnastics, and various social gatherings.

The Rise and Fall of Bowling
Like most social organizations, the Turners sought a revenue stream for the building and other operational expenses. The Northwest Turners achieved this by incorporating a large bowling alley into the facility. The 1960s and 1970s were the golden eras of professional bowling, and revenue from the bowling alley was initially successful at subsidizing operations for the Northwest Turners. Unfortunately, the midcentury modern building with low ceilings wasn’t well suited for banquet halls or wedding receptions, limiting the use of the space for other purposes. Coupled with the sharp decline in bowling as professional and hobby sport in the 1980s and 1990s, the Turners were left without their once-thriving revenue stream. The Turners later ran a weekly bingo game to fund operations, which was successful for a while. But with few revenue-generating events and an aging building with increasingly high maintenance and repair costs, keeping the building functional became an overwhelming challenge. The Northwest Turners sold the building at Belmont and Natoma in 2005. It was later demolished and replaced with residential buildings.

The Northwest Turners Today
The Move to Schiller Park

Current location of American Turners in Schiller Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Whenever a social organization leaves a neighborhood building that served generations of people, the impact is deep. The new Turner Hall near O’Hare Airport in Schiller Park wasn’t far from the previous location, but far enough to lose some members and effectively end a few lifelong friendships that formed around a commonplace. Despite the strife and difficulty associated with losing a meeting place, Northwest Turners kept the gymnastics program and evolved with changing times, as well as strengthen ties to other Illinois Turner Societies.

Continuing the Tradition of Sound Mind in a Sound Body
Though the Northwest Turners have relocated and rebranded a few times over the course of their 150+ year history in Chicago, the organization remains committed to many of the same ideologies that date to its founding. The facility in Schiller Park hosts cheerleading class programs and has a gymnastics team that recently won a series of medals in the Illinois State Gymnastics Championship. The Northwest Turners are also active in the now 102-year old Turner Camp, which today features a bar, restaurant, pool, and continuing education and physical fitness programs.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.