The 1931 Union League Club - 38 East 37th Street

photograph by ajay_suresh

A membership to an exclusive social club was obligatory for high society gentlemen in the 19th century.  In 1863, 70 well-to-do New Yorkers added another, forming the Union League Club.  The New York Times, reported, "The only requisite for membership, besides unblemished reputation, should be an uncompromising and unconditional loyalty to Nation and a complete subordination thereto of all other political ideas."

The new venture was successful, with the Union League Club equaling or surpassing the Union Club as New York City's most distinguished gentlemen's social club.  In March 1881, it opened the doors to its sumptuous new clubhouse on Fifth Avenue at 39th Street.

The neighborhood around the clubhouse gradually changed over the decades.  On February 10, 1929, The New York Times remarked, 'The removal of the Union League Club has been rumored for several years, because of the northward trend of trade and towering business establishments."  President of the club, Alfred E. Maring added that, "some of the members have expressed a desire for newer quarters, maintaining that the present clubhouse lacks some modern conveniences."

At a meeting on February 25, 1929, the members voted to sell the leasehold of the current clubhouse.  A $3 million budget was authorized to purchase property and erect a new structure.  The proposed site, at the southwest corner of Park Avenue and 37th Street, was currently occupied with the former mansions of Robert Winthrop, John Crosby Gage, and the current home of Annie Burr Jennings.

On September 12, 1929, architect Benjamin W. Morris "submitted plans to the membership for the first time," reported The New York Times.  The article noted the building would cost "about $1,000,000."  

Benjamin Wistar Morris's rendering was published in The New York Times on December 29, 1929.

Ground was broken in December 1929.  The New York Times said that edifice would be "constructed of red brick with generous use of limestone trim.  The general character of the architecture is that of the eighteenth century, English and Colonial."  Morris's interiors, said the article, "have been developed to preserve the atmosphere which time has lent to the old clubhouse" and would "reproduce as far as possible the arrangements with which the members are familiar."

The cornerstone was laid on June 4, 1930 and construction was completed in November 1931.  The eight-story building's neo-Classical design was greatly influenced by Georgian prototypes.  In the end, the project went far above budget.  On February 24, 1931, The New York Times had reported, "Its cost was put at well above $4,000,000 yesterday."  

The two-story entrance on 37th Street sat within a bowed pavilion dignified by Corinthian pilasters.  Above it was a stately Palladian window crowned with a beefy limestone voussoir.  

photograph by M. M. Dwyer

Along with offices and a visitors' room on the ground floor was an art gallery.  The first floor consisted of a "club lounge," billiard room and cafe.  On the second floor were the "club hall" and library.  The main dining room and private dining rooms occupied the third floor.

Wives and other female guests entered on Park Avenue.  They would take a "special elevator," as described by The Times, to the fourth floor, the front of which, said the article, "is given up to the ladies' dining room and the ladies' lounge."  The remainder of the floor held squash courts and the gymnasium.

The women's entrance can be seen on Park Avenue in this 1931 photo by Wurts Bros.  from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

The upper floors held 63 bedrooms, each with a private bath, described by the newspaper as "better than the ordinary hotel rooms."  The article commented, "A feature of the new building will be a golf practice room.  Adjacent to this is a room devoted to all sorts of Turkish baths, &c., for the use of the members."

A surprising detail that Benjamin W. Morris included in the plans was a bar.  On February 24, 1931, The New York Times explained, "In the expectation that prohibition will end soon, provision has been made at the new clubhouse of the Union League Club...for the operation of a large, sumptuous bar, when and if the land goes wet, to attend to the tastes of the members who have shown themselves in recent tests to be preponderantly wet."

The Union League Club held a farewell dinner in the old clubhouse on January 19, 1931.  The new building was formally opened with a private dinner on February 12.  In reporting the event, The New York Times remarked, "President Hoover, who like all Republican Presidents since Lincoln, is an honorary member, was unable to be present."

Eight years later, the Federal Writers' Project's New York City Guide commented, "Of the many professional, political, and social clubs in this section, the most famous is the Union League Club, which occupies spacious quarters in a modern building at 38 East Thirty-seventh Street."  Calling the club a "stronghold of Republican conservatism," it recalled, "During Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose insurgency the club signified its displeasure by banishing his portrait from the library, but after his defeat restored it to its original place."

The first exhibition in the art gallery in new building opened on November 12, 1931.  Consisting of only American artists, the exhibition included works by Karl Anderson, Hobart Nichols, F. Louis Mora, Chauncey F. Ryder and others.  

Art exhibitions became regular events.  On November 14, 1935, for instance, The New York Times reported, "The Metropolitan Museum of Art has lent twenty-seven paintings by American artists for a special exhibition at the Union League Club, to be opened today to card holders."

The affluent members of the Union League Club were not greatly affected by the Great Depression.  Nevertheless, they were not oblivious of the struggles of others.  On December 25, 1935, The New York Times reported, "The assembly room of the Union League Club on Park Avenue rang with the joyfulness of several hundred underprivileged children from the congested areas of lower Manhattan who were guests of the club yesterday at its annual Christmas party."

The following year, newspapers announced the upcoming preparations for the Christmas party.  Star baseball player Lou Gehrig would be here to hand out the Christmas presents, and the WPA Federal Theatre Circus was scheduled to provide a two-hour show for 200 "crippled and needy children."  After that, the young guests would enjoy a turkey dinner.  

The planned festivities piqued the attention of "a score of boys from the East River waterfront," reported by The New York Times.  They lurked around the neighborhood of the Union League Club on Christmas Eve.  When the busloads of children arrived, the boys moved in.  "Old hands at the art of 'gate-crashing' and the 'Tiny Tim racket,' they tagged onto the end of the first busload of afflicted youngsters and limped past the doorman," reported The Times.  Once inside, they dispersed among the crowd, donned paper hats and mixed within the joyful throng.

Lloyd Taylor, who was in charge of the affair, quickly noticed the uninvited guests.  He later told a reporter, "Well, it's Christmas."  

A major change to the venerable club came in 1937 when, on January 15, The New York Times reported, "The Union League Club, whose membership has been closed to all but Republicans since it was organized in 1863, voted last night to lift this restriction."

It would take decades for another restriction to be removed.  On February 20, 1953, a meeting of bankers "interested in auditing" was held at the Union League Club.  Bertie G. Hale, a vice-president of the Bank of Georgia, traveled from Atlanta to participate.  Unfortunately, as reported by The New York Times, "when Mrs. Hale presented herself she was turned away, informed that women were not permitted in the quarters where the meeting had been scheduled."

Three decades later, in July 1987, the New York City Human Rights Commission formally accused the Union League Club of discriminating against women.  A month before the trial was scheduled in November 1988, the club passed a resolution to admit women.  Perhaps sarcastically, Mayor Ed Koch commented, "They now accept [the law] fully, with a certain amount of joy."

While social changes affected the racial and gender mix within the Union League Club, one steadfast rule remained--the dress code.  While the outside world turned to sneakers, jeans and open collars, the necktie and jacket ruled within the clubhouse.  It was a rule that became stingingly evident to internationally known sculptor Mark di Suyero in 1989.

Di Suyero was scheduled to receive an award here from the Sculpture Center, an art school and gallery, on the evening of December 7 that year.  Newsday reported, "some 240 people were waiting to honor him," but the the guest of honor never made it to the venue.  He arrived wearing, according to his nephew, Enrico Martignoni, "a pair of white, high-top basketball shoes, a pair of pants and a couple of shirts and a sweater."  The doorman loaned him a jacket and tie, but the sculptor, in protest, put the jacket on backwards.  Neither the doorman nor the artist was willing to back down.  Di Suvero was not admitted and he left.  Newsday said, "Neither the Sculpture Center nor the Union League Club would comment."

photograph by Jim Henderson

Today, amid the trappings of paneled walls, chandeliers, and leather club chairs; and surrounded by oil portraits of distinguished former members, a visitor to the Union League Club experiences the civilized, hushed environment Benjamin Wistar Morris created nearly a century ago.

many thanks to Paul McNamara for hosting me and touring the club.

The Lost Union League Clubhouse -- 5th Ave and 39th St

When this photograph was taken in 1898 traffic was non-existent on Fifth Avenue -- photograph by Arthur Vitols, from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York 

In 1876, only a few blocks north of the Astor mansions, Dickel’s Riding Academy sat at the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 39^th Street.  When James Gordon Bennett, Jr. returned from England that year he brought back a newly-found affection for polo.  He soon organized indoor polo games in the Academy.  But the riding academy would not last many years longer on the site.  

Over a decade earlier, the Union Club was the most exclusive men’s club in Manhattan, if not the nation.  But trouble arose over a single member, Judah P. Benjamin.  When the War of Rebellion broke out, Benjamin accepted the post of Confederate Attorney General, and later became Secretary of War of the Southern Confederacy.  The New-York Tribune later explained “He was in the Southern States with which we had no communication; to prevent his name from being stricken from the roll of members for non-payment of dues three members, Augustus Schell, Samuel Barlow and William Travers, paid the amount due the club and retained Benjamin’s name on the list of members in good standing.”

The newspaper said, “This act of friendship for a rebel in arms produced great indignation, and the contributors to the Benjamin dues fund were severely and unsparingly criticised.”  In fact, the heated differences between the pro- and anti-Benjamin factions were such that repeated threats of duels arose—although none came to pass.  The great irony, of course, was the name of the club itself—The Union.

The rift was resolved when 70 members resigned and formed a new club, The Union League Club.  “The only requisite for membership, besides unblemished reputation, should be an uncompromising and unconditional loyalty to Nation and a complete subordination thereto of all other political ideas,” said the New-York Tribune.

Perhaps to make its disdain of the Union Club clear, within 15 days of its organization on February 6 1863 the Union League Club raised a regiment of black troops.  “After the presentation of the colors the troops started for the wharf where they were to embark for Florida, and 350 members of the Union League marched at the head of the column,” reported the Tribune.

The club’s ardent patriotism would remain a vital element throughout the decades.  Starting out in rented rooms, it moved to the former Leonard Jerome mansion on Madison Square in 1868.  Within a decade the club was looking for a new headquarters.  It would be the end of the line for Dickel’s Riding Academy.

In 1879, the Union League Club held a competition for the design of a clubhouse appropriate for one of the wealthiest and most exclusive clubs in the city.  The commission went to Peabody & Stearns.  By February 1881, the building that replaced the old riding academy was nearly completed and no detail had been overlooked.  On February 3, the Gorham Manufacturing Company announced that the silver service for the club was on exhibition in its rooms.  A day later the New-York Tribune commented on it.

Nearly 700 pieces of silver plate have been completed recently by the Gorham Manufacturing Company for the new house of the Union League Club…The material is a heavy silver plating upon hard metal.  The same design, which is remarkable for its simplicity, is followed throughout.  

The newspaper noted that instead of the shiny, polished finish expected on most tables, the Union League Club silver had “what is called a satin finish, giving a richer appearance than the ordinary polished shining silverware.”  The article listed “soup tureen; large plates with covers, for fish, game and roasts; tea, coffee and chocolate pots, and receptacles for butter, sugar and condiments.”

The expected date for the clubhouse opening was February 22, but a day after that the New-York Tribune noted that work was not yet completed.  Although the construction was done, 

...the building is overrun with joiners, finishers and varnishers, who are putting on the last touches.  The furnishers and upholsterers are already in the building, and a large part of the furniture of the club has been placed in the rooms.  Yesterday the heavy curtains were being hung in the library.  The shelves were ready for the books, and much of the furniture was in the room.  The billiard tables were in the billiard room, but were unpacked.  

Most of the rooms were in the same condition—just needing unpacking and decorating.  “The stained glass has not yet been placed in the sashes of the window at the head of the first landing of the main stairway, but it is in readiness.”  The newspaper now said that “unless something unforeseen happens,” the clubhouse would be ready in a few days.

Harper's Weekly published sketches of the Library and Dining Room in February 1881 (copyright expired)

Finally, on March 5, 1881 the club opened its doors.  The New-York Tribune reported, “The general room and private rooms were taxed to their utmost capacity, and the servants were continually running to and fro to supply the wants of the guests.”

There was no formal reception, but the open house lasted well into the night.  The young bachelor members found the view onto Fifth Avenue stimulating—due to the parade of feminine beauty.  “The windows fronting Fifth-ave. were occupied during the afternoon by the younger members, who received many bows and smiles of recognition from ladies on the sidewalks.”

Guests assemble in the lavish entrance hall during the reception for the Pan-American Delegates in 1889 -- Harper's Weekly, December 1889 (copyright expired)

The newspaper commented on the interior spaces, designed by Louis Tiffany, John LaFarge and Franklin Smith.  “The interior presented a gorgeous spectacle in the evening.  All the lights were burning.  The library, billiard hall and numerous reading and sitting-rooms were much admired and closely inspected.”  On the walls hung about 100 portraits of “men of eminence” painted by well-known artists.  The art collection included bronze and marble busts and statues, engravings and oil paintings. 

Peabody & Stearns had created a $400,000 hulking pile of brick and brownstone born of the unexpected marriage of Italian Renaissance and Queen Anne.  Variously shaped gables and chimneys poked through the high hipped roof, while balconies, pilasters, columns and carved panels created a visual overload.

Newspapers called the new building “impressive” and “greatly admired.”  The Sun said, “The building itself is  in every way worthy of so costly a site.  There are few more luxurious clubhouses in the world.”  Century Magazine was a bit slower to applaud.  In March 1882 it wrote, “The Union League Club House (Fifth Avenue, New York) has, it is hardly fanciful to say, the qualities of its defects.  The latter have been frequently pointed out in detail since the completion of the building, but so far as they strike the ordinary eye, they may be pretty sufficiently summed up in saying that the edifice seems an architectural negation of repose.”

A turn-of-the-century postcard provides a glimpse at the contrast in materials.

The magazine stressed that “repose” was an important quality of monumental architecture.  And despite that fact that the critic felt that the Union League Club had an “absence of architectural dignity as a prominent element;” it found Peabody & Stearns’ fanciful approach a bit refreshing.  He admitted that there was “a certain animation and sprightliness, which in themselves are by no means displeasing.”

Nevertheless, he summed up his evaluation sarcastically.  Any one “who has reached it after a walk of five miles up Broadway from the Battery… may be able cordially to admire only its large red mass and the unusual circumstance that it has a visible, instead of merely an inferable, roof.”

Not forgetting its roots, on April 17, 1890 the Union League Club gave a glittering reception for General William Tecumseh Sherman.  The Union general had just turned 70 years old.

Fifth Avenue Events, published in 1916, remembered the event.  

The club-house was beautifully decorated.  American flags bedecked the entrance lobby and main stairway; everywhere were streamers, banners and festoons of bunting; before the library windows were banks of flowers, and ferns and geraniums covered the mantel.  Red, white, and blue flowers were banked before the stage, which was draped with the Stars and Stripes.  A portrait of General Sherman in uniform, painted by Daniel Huntington in 1875, occupied a place of honor, draped with flags and a victor’s wreath.

The importance of the event was evidenced by some of the guests: Secretary of the Interior John W. Nobel, Vice President Levi P. Morton, senators, generals and foreign diplomats from Russia, Chili, Brazil and Peru.

The Sherman reception was but one of many held for men of importance.  On February 10, 1913, The Sun said, “Its receptions and banquets have been famous for half a century, and among its guests of honor have been some of the most prominent men in the history of their day.  Beginning with the name of Abraham Lincoln, the list embraces hundreds.”  The newspaper listed names like General U. S. Grant, Major-General Philip H. Sheridan, Edward M. Stanton, Rutherford B. Hayes, James G. Blaine, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Prince Henry of Prussia and many others.

On June 21, 1900, Governor Theodore Roosevelt arrived in New York City from Philadelphia where his name was presented as running mate for William McKinley.  Reporters thronged around him as he stepped off the train.

“Please don’t ask me any questions.  I have nothing to say, absolutely nothing upon any subject,” he announced.  When asked about his plans, he replied “My plans as yet are not fixed very far ahead.  Tonight I shall stay at the Union League Club and tomorrow I intend to go to Oyster Bay, where I will rest for a few days.”

No reporters would get through the Union League Club doors to accost the esteemed politician.

Ever-patriotic, the Union League Club is decked out for McKinley and Hobard in 1896 photograph by Robt. L. Bracklow from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York 

The tradition of supporting black soldiers continued into the 20^th century.  When the United States entered World War I, the Buffaloes—a regiment composed entirely of black soldiers—prepared to fight.  On March 24, 1918, the New-York Tribune reported that the regiment, “marched up Fifth Avenue yesterday afternoon to the stirring strains of ‘Dixie’ and received its colors, the gift of the Union League Club, from the hand of Governor Whitman.  Since ‘Dixie’ first was a tune to live or die by the Union League Club has presented the stands of colors to negro regiments, and in times less stressful than these those regiments have made enviable records.”

A decade later, as the Great Depression cast a pall over the country, the Fifth Avenue neighborhood around the Union League Club had been engulfed by business buildings.  On August 28, 1929 the club announced its plans to erect a $1 million clubhouse on Park Avenue at 37^th Street.

Two years later, on January 24, 1931, the clubhouse closed its doors.  The New York Times remarked the following day on the changes along the avenue.  

The empty windows now look down on an avenue completely changed during the fifty years the club has maintained its position as one of the city’s landmarks.  Quiet homes and the horse-drawn, rubber-tired traffic are gone…Traffic snarls stayed downtown on Fulton and neighboring streets.  Shrill whistles of the ‘police control’ did not pierce the ears of club members.  Bearded young men with stove pipe hats and congress gaiters escorted young ladies with enormous bustles and trailing skirts on strolls down Fifth Avenue.  That era of club life and observation has become history.

In 1931 the club was vacant.  Traffic has increased.  photograph by Wurts Bros. from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York 

Plans were filed soon after for the erection of a 47-story office building on the site.  The grand clubhouse sat empty and silent for a year—until 1:00 in the morning on January 26, 1932.  Somehow a fire started in the basement.  Within an hour and a half, “the entire structure was a raging furnace that seemingly defied the efforts of a small army of firemen to put it out,” reported The New York Times.

The newspaper said, “Among the 300 spectators who gathered to watch the destruction of the historic old Fifth Avenue building were a handful of elderly gentlemen who are members of the club that was founded Feb 6, 1863.”

By morning the Union League Clubhouse was a gutted shell.  On its site today stands a soaring black glass office tower.  That the monumental and quirky clubhouse stood here for half a century is generally forgotten.

photograph by the author