Lithuanian Hall Explained

Lithuanian Hall (Lietuvių Namai)
Nickname:Lith Hall
Location:851 Hollins Street
Baltimore, Maryland,
Type:Dance venue
Opened:1917
Former Names:Lietuvių Namai (1917–1968)
Website:https://www.lithuanianhall.com/ Lithuanian Hall official webpage

The Lithuanian Hall (Lithuanian: Lietuvių Namai), also known as Lith Hall, is the home of the Lithuanian Hall Association. It is a private club located on Hollins Street in the Hollins Market neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland and serves as a recreation center and meeting house for social events, including dance nights, musical events, community suppers and cultural events. The hall was founded to serve the needs of the Lithuanian community in Baltimore, Maryland. The hall is popular with artists and hipsters.[1]

History

The hall was established in 1921, and was only referred to by the Lithuanian name Lietuvių Namai until 1968.[2]

During the 1920s the hall was provided as a venue for speeches by prominent members of the Communist Party USA, such as William Z. Foster and Juliet Stuart Poyntz. On October 13, 1929, a Jewish branch of the CPUSA hosted a speech by Sol Hurwitz, the editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, and the speech was interrupted by a mob of anti-Communists. The Communists defended themselves with chairs until the police arrived to disperse the mob.[3]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: John Waters, '50s jams and cutting a rug at Lithuanian Hall . . 2011-11-28.
  2. Web site: History of Lithuanian Hall . Baltimore Lithuanian-American Community . 2011-11-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120426005628/http://www.baltimorelac.org/history-of-establishment/?lang=en . 2012-04-26 . dead .
  3. Vernon L. Pedersen The Communist Party in Maryland, 1919-1957 (2001) p 45