Arch Social Club
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The Arch Social Club at Pennsylvania and North Avenues started its life as Schanze's Theater, a movie house constructed in 1912. After serving time as a Wilson's Restaurant from the 1930s through the 1960s (when the lower facade was covered over), the club bought the building in 1972. Originally located on Arch Street, the club was part of the Victorian-era Reformist Movement that promoted working class men to better themselves through lectures and cerebral recreational pursuits. In 1912, a group of African American Baltimore men founded the Arch Social Club to promote charity, friendship and brotherly love. As many reformist Clubs did, the Arch Social Club grew and evolved into a public house and event hall, uses that continue to this day. In 2013, the club brought back the building's historic façade. The newly restored facade more than sparkles at this key intersection in West Baltimore and stands as a bright reminder of the area’s great heritage and promising future.
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Arch Social Club (2013)
View of the front facade of the Arch Social Club after renovation. | Source: David H. Gleason Associates, Inc. | Date: December 11, 2013
Arch Social Club before Renovation (c. 2013)
View of the front facade of the Arch Social Club before renovation. | Source: David H. Gleason Associates, Inc. | Date: c. 2013
Banner, Arch Social Club No. 1
A reproduction of an early purple and gold banner flag used by the Arch Social Club in the early twentieth century. | Source: | Date: 2018 February 15