Twentieth Century Club (Buffalo, New York)
Encyclopedia
The Twentieth Century Club is a women's social club founded in the late 19th century in Buffalo, New York
. It is located at 595 Delaware Avenue, in the Delaware District
neighborhood. It was the first club run by women, for women, in the United States.
The club developed out of the Graduates Association of the Buffalo Seminary. In 1894, the club purchased the present property and hired the firm of Green & Wicks
to design a clubhouse to add to the front of an existing Baptist
church. The clubhouse is a three story building in the Italian renaissance style. The building is 78 feet wide and 96 feet deep. The first story is of Indiana limestone
and the rest of the structure of pressed brick, of a warm red tone, with a cornice of terra cotta
. The Ionic order
pillars across the front of the second story are of blue marble
. The original church structure at the rear of the lot was demolished in 1904 and a gymnasium, pool, showers, and a hot room were added. Additional land and a formal garden were added to the rear of the property in 1933.
In 2011 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. It is located at 595 Delaware Avenue, in the Delaware District
Delaware District, Buffalo, New York
- Geography :The Delaware District neighborhood is in the central part of Buffalo. The neighborhood is located along Delaware Avenue and Elmwood Avenue. The neighborhood is bordered on the south by the Downtown Buffalo neighborhood. The northern boundary of the neighborhood abuts Forest Lawn...
neighborhood. It was the first club run by women, for women, in the United States.
The club developed out of the Graduates Association of the Buffalo Seminary. In 1894, the club purchased the present property and hired the firm of Green & Wicks
Edward Brodhead Green
E. B. Green was a major American architect from New York State. He was born in Utica, NY. He attended Cornell University, and moved to Buffalo, NY in 1881, where he was active through about 1930...
to design a clubhouse to add to the front of an existing Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
church. The clubhouse is a three story building in the Italian renaissance style. The building is 78 feet wide and 96 feet deep. The first story is of Indiana limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
and the rest of the structure of pressed brick, of a warm red tone, with a cornice of terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
. The Ionic order
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
pillars across the front of the second story are of blue marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. The original church structure at the rear of the lot was demolished in 1904 and a gymnasium, pool, showers, and a hot room were added. Additional land and a formal garden were added to the rear of the property in 1933.
In 2011 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.