Luxemburger Hall, also colloquially referred to as the “Luxie Club,” located at 416 High Street in Aurora, Illinois, opened in 1917 and holds the distinction of being the only Luxembourg social club still functioning in the United States.  

The hall was built to house Aurora’s Luxemburger American Independent Club which, following World War II, was renamed the American Luxemburger Independent Club.  

Founded in 1890, the club was established by Luxembourgers to promote social, musical and vocal entertainment. The other important function of the club was to provide burial insurance for members.  

“Part of the dues were collected so that if anything happened to you, you wouldn’t end up in the Potter’s Field,” said Dennis Buck, former curator of the Aurora Historical Society. “Many of the Luxembourg immigrants were scraping along as farmers and wouldn’t have been able to afford a funeral.” 

Phil Johns, John Meisch, J.P. May and Frank Braun founded the club with the first meeting held at Weiland Hall on Main Street. For many years afterwards, heir meetings took place in a hall on North Broadway but eventually the group wanted a social hall of their own.  

The American Luxemburger Independent Club began the process of planning the hall in 1915 through the efforts of younger club members, who had formed a dramatic club and a singing society. By that time, membership of the club had grown to about 300 active members. The initial steps to building the hall took place on June 25, 1916, when club president J.P. Mathieu named nine men to a building committee to begin planning a hall, including Michael H. Frieders, John Hamling, Peter Wagener, William Assel, John Frisch, Adam Wittry, Peter Weiland, Mike Lies and Nick Consdorf.  

On October 8, 1916, the committee presented its findings regarding costs to the members and after a unanimous vote, a contract was granted to Nick Frisch and William Assell and construction began. Luxemburger Hall was dedicated on June 17, 1917.  

The Luxie Club has been remodeled and redecorated several times. The homes next to the hall were purchased by the club and eventually removed to create parking facilities for members. The neighborhood around Luxemburger Hall has seen a shift in demographics over the past 30 years and is heavily Hispanic. Because of this, Luxemburger Hall is now also used for celebrations such as quinceañaras. 

Luxemburger Hall continues to operate as a private, members-only club but is open to the public for many of its events and dinners. While its Luxembourger identity was less apparent for several years, in 2013 the Luxembourg Brotherhood of America, Section 7, was re-established in Aurora, which now oversees the governance of the club. The lower level of the building is a bar and restaurant while the upper level is an event hall that is available for rent. There are weekly special dinners and events at the Luxie Club. Behind the building are outdoor bowling alleys used by club members who are a part of a local bowling league.  

If you visit Aurora, the Luxie Club is a must-see. The lower-level lobby contains fascinating memorabilia from the Independent Club and speaks of the proud history of Luxembourgers in Aurora. The club offers a unique slice of Luxembourg culture and heritage in the United States and is a treasure for all Luxembourg Americans.  

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