“The suspended section met three days later on November 16th to discuss its future and it decided to form the BANATER MAENNERCHOR. A temporary eight man board of directors was appointed for a three month period. Peter Schock was elected President. August Beuchse was unanimously elected musical director and the first rehearsal was set for November 23, 1910 in Fred Schnabel’s “saloon” at Germantown Avenue and Oxford Street.”
-A History of the German Hungarians (1910 – 2010)
A single mention of a place-location. The intersection of two Philadelphia streets. But also, the intersection of forty-eight men with the founding of an institution that as of November 16, 2024 has lasted one hundred fourteen years.
Often incorrectly considered our first home, the old city club at 2nd & Norris streets, wasn’t acquired until 1923. Our history states that the singing society took temporary quarters at the Maennerchor “Rheingold” on December 9, 1910, holding a founders day festival at this location at Eight and Columbia. The same history also states that over the years the Rheingold deteriorated and the Banater Maennerchor “swallowed up” its membership.
But while those two locations, as well as the property in Oakford, are buildings and land we had ownership in at various times in our history, it was a place only mentioned once that hosted our first club function, a rehearsal on November 23, 1910.
For generations, the Fred Schnabel Saloon has been a footnote on the history of the German Hungarians. In a club like ours history is written by the people. What stories do we continue to tell? What knowledge do we pass down, and what information do we record?
The fact that the first rehearsal was held at Fred Schnabel’s Saloon has lasted through our club lifetime. It has been kept a part of the record when other facts maybe deemed not as important have fallen away.
But we don’t know very much about it other than that single mention. I’ve found some more information about the place after some high level digging online.
Taverntrove.com has a timeline of the Wm. Gretz Brewing Company in Philadelphia, PA. Included there was this photograph circa 1900:
This corner tavern was part of the greater Gretz & Reiger Brewery building complex.
Hidden City Philadelphia covered the building and a decent history of the Gretz & Rieger brewery in a 2012 article by Dan Wisniewski. It also includes information about individuals working towards naming the location a Historic place. Other searches online confirm there have been multiple attempts to do so. Its unclear where these stand.
By 2013 they had a second article this time by Christopher Mote noting partial demolition of the site was imminent. A section was demolished and from google maps street views and other photo listings online, that section appears to be what was once Fred Schnabel’s.
Rising Real-Estate in 2019 reported that the location would be converted to residential units with retail space. This includes architectural renderings of what it could look like.
Via Loopnet.com it appears that the property is approved for mixed use redevelopment and investors are being sought by GREA or Global Real Estate Advisors.
So maybe one day this old brewery location will be home to converted residential spaces, re-using a historic building, expanding it and making it livable space like the Chocolate Works, the Sugar Refinery or the Fairmount @ Brewerytown.
In putting together this story about “Fred Schnabel’s Saloon,” I thought it would be just a story about a place we once gathered. What I found was that uncovering a little more history reveals evidence to the truth of our organization. Robert Nisbet in his The Quest for Community: A Study in the Ethics of Order & Freedom states, “Culture does not exist autonomously; it is set always in the context of social relationships.”
Our culture and our club are the same. We continue on because we are social animals. We continue the traditions because we have relationships with one another. When we gather, the central goal is to be together, with one another, and to enjoy each other’s company. Our own Rudy Rack states it another way, in his signature prose:
“Everyone who has had the experience of being alone amidst strange surroundings will recall having felt a sudden glow of warmth upon seeing a familiar face or hearing a familiar voice. During the great immigration to this country in the early part of this century there were many people who upon arrival experienced a feeling of loneliness, and oftentimes fear. Since man is probably the most gregarious of all creatures it is not at all surprising that when several persons from the same European locale found one another they automatically joined together, not only for mutual protection and comfort in this strange land, but also to swap stories, use the language to which they were accustomed (after a hard day wrestling with the new, unfamiliar sounds into which they had been thrust) and relax with a brimming stein and a cheerful song.”
—Rudy Rack
So, fellow German Hungarians, lets continue to be together, lets celebrate our past by swapping stories, let’s work on our culture and our club goals, but let’s not forget from time to time, we should relax with a “brimming stein and a cheerful song.”
No doubt they did just that at Fred Schnabel’s Saloon.
Michael N. Fricker