The Pen & Pencil Club is a private social club

Gentlemen's club

A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...

 and association of journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

s in Philadelphia. It is the oldest continuously operating press club in America, and the second oldest in the world.

It was founded in 1892, by reporters and editors at the city's seven morning and six evening newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

s by combining the Stylus Club, the Journalist Club of Philadelphia and the Reporters Club. Under its bylaws, the club is controlled by the working press.

The club is currently located at 1522 Latimer St. in Philadelphia, PA, approximately three blocks east of Rittenhouse Square in Center City.

According to its Web site, "The club has seen many well-known faces in its history. President William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...

 once engaged in bar banter at the P&P until 5 a.m., after giving his bodyguards the slip. George M. Cohan

George M. Cohan

George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....

 felt at home here. So did past members Red Smith

Red Smith (sportswriter)

For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...

 and Damon Runyon

Damon Runyon

Alfred Damon Runyon was an American newspaperman and writer.He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To New Yorkers of his generation, a "Damon Runyon character" evoked a distinctive social type from the...

."