A.U.V. Auditorium

Completed in 1898, this huge building, with its elegant ballroom, replaced the old hall of the German Workingmen’s Benevolent Association or Arbeiter Unterstützungs Verein (A.U.V). Organized in Kalamazoo in 1866, this association offered aid, insurance and recreation to its members. By 1904 it was one of over eighty A.U.V. affiliates in Michigan. Although greatly altered, with the original spires removed, the building continues to be a reminder of the state’s German heritage.