What is North Star Community Hall?
Recently known as the ‘Champlain Club’ and historically as the ‘German Club’, this beautiful building was a busy social club for much of the 20th century. In 2021, we became a nonprofit. Board members and a large community of skilled volunteers run and manage the building. There is no paid staff.
- 1900 sq foot restored dance hall and performance space on the second floor
- Three multipurpose rooms on the first floor for gathering, learning, meetings, and socializing (“Front Room”, the “Middle Room”, and the “Oak Room”)
- Vintage shuffleboard table in the Oak Room
- Small commercial kitchen
As a home for celebrations, socializing, performing arts, and dance in the heart of Burlington’s Old North End, we are fulfilling and expanding on a 128-year tradition. Originally named Goethe Lodge #592, the building was constructed in 1895 as a social and ‘benevolent’ club in what was then a thriving German immigrant community clustered along North Avenue in Burlington. Today, the Old North End is home to new Americans from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nepal, China, Ukraine, Vietnam, Congo, Somalia, Canada, the UK and more. 40 languages are spoken at Burlington High School, just a mile away.
North Star Hall is affordable, with low hourly rental rates. We’re home to a wide range of dance communities offering social dances and lessons in our beautifully restored hall, including Lindy Hoppers, West Coast Swing, Jeh Kulu African Dance, Salsa, English Country, and Ballroom dancers. A piano teacher holds lessons for children in the afternoons. Neighbors and community members gather at the Hall for celebrations and potlucks. Prior to the pandemic, two board game groups (one an ASL group) met regularly in our space.
Members of North Star Community Hall share responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the building and grounds and enjoy access to the club spaces for private party rentals and larger social events.
There is a community meeting, led by the Board, on the second Thursday of every month, 7:30-9pm, to discuss club business and enjoy each other’s company in our increasingly technologically-enhanced world.
A vibrant home to share, learn, and connect through the arts, dance, music and other events
