Casino Club. Property of Casino Association, organized 1853 among cultured German settlers. Club house and opera building, erected 1858, had a theatre; a hall seating 700; banquet rooms; club rooms. Setting during Civil War for military balls, entertainments, suppers; tableaux, concerts and minstrel shows to benefit the Confederate cause; and meetings of ladies to roll bandages. The owners obtained the best artists of the day to perform here. In the 1850s one noted guest was Col. Robt. E. Lee. Later audiences included Gen. U.S. Grant and Buffalo Bill. (1965) #751