Penn Club of New York City
Encyclopedia
The Penn Club of New York (usually referred to as The Penn Club) is a private club
located in Midtown
Manhattan
, New York City
, New York
, USA
. Its membership is restricted almost entirely to students, alumni, and faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
. Its clubhouse is a fourteen-story building located on West 44th Street between Fifth Avenue
and Sixth Avenue
.
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In November 1886, the first local group of University of Pennsylvania
alumni outside of Philadelphia was formed in New York at a dinner at Delmonico's Restaurant
. At the alumni group's annual banquet at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in January, 1900, they presented a plan to secure "a convenient suite of rooms in the middle of the city, adjacent to a cafe." Thereafter, on October 6, 1900, the University of Pennsylvania's Club of New York opened in four ground-floor rooms in the Royalton Hotel
, just 200 feet (61 m) west of today's clubhouse. The Penn Club soon had more than 150 members at a time when only 400 alumni lived in the New York area. The Penn Club received its charter from the New York Legislature
in 1901.
In 1905, the Club moved to "new and commodious quarters" in the Hotel Stanley at 124 West 47th Street, where it remained until 1910. Between 1911 and 1922, however, the Club did away with a clubhouse, instead focusing on their annual banquet. In 1922, after a three-year search, the Club's directors leased two townhouses on East 50th Street, next to what today is the New York Palace Hotel
.
Throughout the 1920s, the Penn Club on East 50th Street was active and successful. Its dining and guest rooms were regularly filled and its dinners and programs were highly attended. The Great Depression
, though, quickly hit the Club hard, and it vacated its townhouses in 1935. Thereafter, it shared space in the Cornell Club on East 38th Street, moved to two other clubs, and finally settled in the Phi Gamma Delta
Club on West 56th Street, where it remained until 1961, when it moved to the Biltmore Hotel
. The Club stayed in the Biltmore Hotel until the hotel was gutted and made an office tower in 1981 by the late Paul Milstein. After two years of construction, the Club moved to its current location.
, Johns Hopkins University
, MIT, the University of Chicago
, Vanderbilt University
, and the University of Richmond
. The Club offers legacy memberships to spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and siblings of University of Pennsylvania-affiliated members.
All members enjoy full use of the clubhouse facilities and its services. The club includes two bars, two restaurants, five banquet/meeting rooms, 39 guestrooms, a business center, and massage and athletic facilities. Members may use the squash courts at the Yale Club of New York City
. Members also have access to more than 150 reciprocal private clubs worldwide.
Today, the Penn Club has more than 5,000 members around the world.
The Penn Club is owned by its members, although The University of Pennsylvania owns the clubhouse building and leases it to the Club. The Club is a 501(c)7 not-for-profit entity.
40.755159°N 73.980869°W
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...
located in Midtown
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...
Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its membership is restricted almost entirely to students, alumni, and faculty of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Its clubhouse is a fourteen-story building located on West 44th Street between Fifth Avenue
Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)
Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...
and Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)
Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
.
History of the Penn Club
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
alumni outside of Philadelphia was formed in New York at a dinner at Delmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's Restaurant
Delmonico's is the name of series of restaurants of varying duration, quality, and fame located in New York City. The original and most famous was operated by the Delmonico family during the 19th and early 20th centuries, closing due to a Prohibition-era slowdown in 1923...
. At the alumni group's annual banquet at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in January, 1900, they presented a plan to secure "a convenient suite of rooms in the middle of the city, adjacent to a cafe." Thereafter, on October 6, 1900, the University of Pennsylvania's Club of New York opened in four ground-floor rooms in the Royalton Hotel
Royalton Hotel
The Royalton Hotel is a hotel in at 44 West 44th Street, midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA.The building was built in 1898 as the exclusive residential Hotel Royalton. The firm of Rossiter & Wright served as the architects, and the contractor was E. F. Dodson & Company...
, just 200 feet (61 m) west of today's clubhouse. The Penn Club soon had more than 150 members at a time when only 400 alumni lived in the New York area. The Penn Club received its charter from the New York Legislature
New York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
in 1901.
In 1905, the Club moved to "new and commodious quarters" in the Hotel Stanley at 124 West 47th Street, where it remained until 1910. Between 1911 and 1922, however, the Club did away with a clubhouse, instead focusing on their annual banquet. In 1922, after a three-year search, the Club's directors leased two townhouses on East 50th Street, next to what today is the New York Palace Hotel
Villard Houses
The Villard Houses are located at 455 Madison Avenue in the Manhattan Borough of New York City between 50th and 51st Street.- History :The building was constructed in 1884, designed by the architecture firm McKim, Mead and White three years after they started their company...
.
Throughout the 1920s, the Penn Club on East 50th Street was active and successful. Its dining and guest rooms were regularly filled and its dinners and programs were highly attended. The Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, though, quickly hit the Club hard, and it vacated its townhouses in 1935. Thereafter, it shared space in the Cornell Club on East 38th Street, moved to two other clubs, and finally settled in the Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
Club on West 56th Street, where it remained until 1961, when it moved to the Biltmore Hotel
Biltmore Hotel
Bowman-Biltmore Hotels was a chain created by hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman.The name evokes the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate, whose buildings and gardens within are privately owned historical landmarks and tourist attractions in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The name has...
. The Club stayed in the Biltmore Hotel until the hotel was gutted and made an office tower in 1981 by the late Paul Milstein. After two years of construction, the Club moved to its current location.
Membership
Membership in the Penn Club is restricted to alumni, faculty, full-time staff, and students over the age of 21 of the University of Pennsylvania, as well as alumni of a short list of affiliated schools, such as Franklin & Marshall CollegeFranklin & Marshall College
Franklin & Marshall College is a four-year private co-educational residential national liberal arts college in the Northwest Corridor neighborhood of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States....
, Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, MIT, the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, and the University of Richmond
University of Richmond
The University of Richmond is a selective, private, nonsectarian, liberal arts university located on the border of the city of Richmond and Henrico County, Virginia. The University of Richmond is a primarily undergraduate, residential university with approximately 4,000 undergraduate and graduate...
. The Club offers legacy memberships to spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and siblings of University of Pennsylvania-affiliated members.
All members enjoy full use of the clubhouse facilities and its services. The club includes two bars, two restaurants, five banquet/meeting rooms, 39 guestrooms, a business center, and massage and athletic facilities. Members may use the squash courts at the Yale Club of New York City
Yale Club of New York City
The Yale Club of New York City, commonly called the Yale Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni and faculty of Yale University, University of Virginia and Dartmouth College...
. Members also have access to more than 150 reciprocal private clubs worldwide.
Today, the Penn Club has more than 5,000 members around the world.
The Penn Club is owned by its members, although The University of Pennsylvania owns the clubhouse building and leases it to the Club. The Club is a 501(c)7 not-for-profit entity.
See also
- List of American gentlemen's clubs
- Harvard Club of New YorkHarvard Club of New YorkThe Harvard Club of New York is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York, New York, USA. Anyone who has attended Harvard University may apply to become a member. Incorporated in 1887, it is housed in adjoining lots at 27 West 44th Street and 35 West 44th Street...
- Princeton Club of New YorkPrinceton Club of New YorkThe Princeton Club of New York is a private club located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. Its membership is composed almost entirely of alumni and faculty of Princeton University, which is located 40 miles outside New York City in Princeton, New Jersey.Incorporated on December...
- Yale Club of New York CityYale Club of New York CityThe Yale Club of New York City, commonly called the Yale Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA Its membership is restricted almost entirely to alumni and faculty of Yale University, University of Virginia and Dartmouth College...
- Cornell Club of New YorkCornell Club of New YorkThe Cornell Club of New York, usually referred to as The Cornell Club, is a private club located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA...
External links
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