Knickerbocker Club
| Company type | Traditional gentlemen's club |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | 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 founded in 1871 in New York City. Its current location, a neo-Georgian mansion 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.
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]
Prominent former members
- Frederick Baldwin Adams
- Frank Crowninshield
- Woodbury Kane
- Joseph Florimond Loubat
- Frederick Townsend Martin
- James Montaudevert Waterbury, Sr.
- Henry White
- Robert Winthrop (1833–1892)
- James T. Woodward
- Jerauld Wright
See also
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
External links
- Information about the building at TheCityReview.com
 | This article about an organization in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |