Knickerbocker Club
| Type | Gentlemen's club |
|---|---|
| Predecessor(s) | Union Club of the City of New York |
| Founded | 1871 |
| Headquarters | 2 East 62nd Street |
The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick), is a gentlemen's club in New York City founded in 1871. Its current location, a neo-Georgian structure at 2 East 62nd Street, was commissioned in 1913. It was designed by William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich.[1] The Knick enjoys reciprocal arrangements with other clubs of its type, including the Australian Club.
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[edit] History
The origins of The Knick began with the Union Club of the City of New York, considered the first gentlemen's club in New York (or at least the oldest). Starting during the Civil War, various members of the Union Club left to form other private clubs, and in 1871 those who thought the Union's admission standards had fallen left to form the Knickerbocker Club.[1]
In 1903 The Brook was founded by some prominent members of The Knick (as well as some members of other New York City private clubs, such as the Union Club and and Metropolitan Club).[2]
By the 1950s, urban social club membership was dwindling, in large part because of the movement of wealthy families to the suburbs. In 1959, the Knickerbocker Club considered rejoining the Union Club, merging The Knick's 550 members with the Union Club's 900 men, but the plan never came to fruition.[1]
[edit] Notable former members
- Frederick Baldwin Adams (1878–1961), businessman and philanthropist
- William Astor Chanler (1867-1934), explorer, soldier and New York politician
- Frank Crowninshield (1872–1947), journalist, developer of Vanity Fair
- Woodbury Kane (1859–1905), Rough Rider
- Joseph Florimond Loubat (1831–1927), philanthropist
- Frederick Townsend Martin (1849–1914), writer and anti-poverty advocate
- James Montaudevert Waterbury, Sr. (1851–1931), president of the New York Steel and Wire Company and the American Type Bar and Machine Company
- Henry White (1850–1927), diplomat
- Robert Winthrop (1833–1892), banker
- James T. Woodward (1837–1910), banker
- Jerauld Wright (1898–1995), Navy Commander-in-Chief
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Gray, Christopher. "Inside the Union Club, Jaws Drop," New York Times (Feb. 11, 2007).
- ^ New Club is Launched, The New York Times, April 2, 1903
[edit] External links
- Information about the building at TheCityReview.com
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