The Santa Clara Verein was founded in 1868 as a Turnverein and social club, and members purchased land at the corner of Alviso and Benton Streets.

[2] Another false-front building across the street, known as the Larder House and reportedly a former stagecoach stop, was also used by the German American community.

[6] The lodge building contained both a gymnasium and an auditorium and was used for dramatic performances, musical recitals, graduation exercises, and social activities such as dances.

One of them, Lewis Kline, a beer distributor, acquired ownership of the building and leased it out to a sheet metal fabricator;[2] it was later used as a furniture warehouse and as a thrift shop supporting handicapped war veterans.

[2][10] In 1990, the city voted to allow the then dilapidated building to be razed to make way for a Santa Clara University guesthouse for visiting Jesuits.