City Selling The Other Turner Hall

The name Turner Hall today in Milwaukee is synonymous with the three-story, downtown building on N. Vel R. Phillips Ave. just off State Street.

But more than 100 years ago, the city had several such halls. Created by the American Turners, a German-rooted organization focused on athletics, culture and politics, the halls were community and athletic facilities. The nonprofit Milwaukee Turners continue that legacy today, but lease out much of the downtown building for use as a concert venue and restaurant.

The other remaining hall, long since removed from Turner ownership, is now on the market.

The Department of City Development is selling the Bahn Frei Turnverein Hall at 1118-1126 W. North Ave. for $40,000. The property is located just west of Interstate 43.

Built in 1892, the three-story, 25,260-square-foot structure was owned by the Bahn Frei Turners (bahn frei translates to clear path) for less than a decade. But after selling it the organization continued to use the building, including as a site for rallies for socialist congressman Victor Berger.

During World War I, the building was known as Pasadena Hall to avoid anti-German sentiment. The Bahn Frei Turners merged into the Milwaukee Turners in the 1930s.

The building was remodeled in 1945 following a fire, and in the ensuing years newspaper accounts show a steady stream of boxing matches, wrestling bouts and concerts were held in the ballroom.  A tavern was located on the first floor.

The structure has a layout similar to the downtown building, with a large hall and balcony on the top floors, a gymnasium tucked into the back of the structure and a large staircase just inside the front door. The exterior, however, is substantially different, with the bahn frei building lacking the tower and cream city brick facade of the downtown club.

The hall was rebranded as the Ron-De-Voo Ballroom in the late 1940s. After another fire, the hall was used as a jazz venue. In 1953 it hosted a concert by Billie Holiday. The building, according to a land-use investigation, also housed a billiard parlor, shoe shiner, contractor’s office and loan office at various points.

Starting in 1965, the building was used by several religious organizations.

“Unbelievable, large church divided into four huge worship units, with room for three more,” says a 1978 property listing retained by the assessor’s office. “Seating [capacities] are 400, 120, 100 and 100.” The gymnasium was maintained separate from the church spaces, and an apartment was also carved out of the space.

The City of Milwaukee took possession of the property from Haven of Faith in 2013.

A listing sheet suggests the building could house a number of commercial uses, including office space, storefronts, a recording studio, live-work space, a restaurant or a catering operation. Whatever the proposed use, the city is requiring that it must be taxable.

A new land-use plan covers the area stretching west of the hall. Approved in 2021, it calls for North Avenue to become an “Eco Main Street” to match the environmentally-focused projects of the surrounding Lindsay Heights neighborhood. But until that sustainable vision becomes reality, the former hall sits across the street from a gas station.

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