The Franklin Inn Club is a private social club in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1902 as a literary society, it is one of the four historic gentlemen's clubs in Philadelphia's Center City and was the first to open membership to women in Philadelphia.

Early history

The Franklin Inn Club was founded by the Philadelphia physician and writer Silas Weir Mitchell; J. William White, and seven other members of the University Club at Penn as a social venue for published authors and illustrators.Seymour Toll, “The Franklin Inn Club,” published in A Centennial Catalogue of the Franklin Inn Club of Philadelphia, pp. viii-xviii, Washington: Ross & Perry, 2004. It soon became a gathering place for novelists, poets, scholars, actors, playwrights, and journalists. The clubhouse hosted amateur theatricals, and also served as home to The Philobiblon Club, founded in 1893 for book collectors and dealers. Visitors to the club in the early 20th century included

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

Christopher Morley Christopher Darlington Morley (May 5, 1890 – March 28, 1957) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet. He also produced stage productions for a few years and gave college lectures.''Online Literature'' Biography Morley was bo ...

,Thom Nickels, Legendary Locals of Center City Philadelphia, p54, Arcadia Publishing, 2014

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...

, and

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

. Following World War II, qualifications for admission were broadened to include those “contributing notably to the literary, artistic or intellectual life of the community." The club's all-male membership policy ended in 1980. The charter, bylaws, and lists of its original founders and directors are documented in the 1914 Book of the Franklin Inn Club

Clubhouse

First located at 1218 Chancellor Street, the Franklin Inn Club in 1907 moved to its current home at 205 South Camac Street. To create the Inn, the architect Francis G. Caldwell combined several small rowhouses, dating from the early 19th century, in neocolonial style. The building was added to the

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places The Philadelphia Register of Historic Places (PRHP) is a register of historic places by the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Buildings, structures, sites, objects, interiors and districts can be added to the list. Criteria According to the Phila ...

in 1961. The interior of the building was designed to evoke the 18th century coffeehouse envisioned by the club's namesake, Benjamin Franklin. Its original sign is now part of the collection of the McClung Museum of Natural History & Culture.

Modern club

The club hosts conversations and debates among its members regarding current events and art, and hosts speakers. Events include the club's annual J. William White dinner that is held near the birthday of Benjamin Franklin. The clubhouse continues to serve as a playhouse for stage performances, and is a venue for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The Inn's second floor library holds its collections of art and books written by, illustrated by, and about club members. In 2018 the club served as the set for parts of an episode of the television series ''

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee ''Full Frontal with Samantha Bee'' is an American late-night talk and news satire television program that aired on TBS from 2016 to 2022. The show was hosted by comedian Samantha Bee, a former correspondent on ''The Daily Show''. In July 202 ...

'', airing on TBS.

Notable past members

E. Digby Baltzell Edward Digby Baltzell Jr. (November 14, 1915 – August 17, 1996) was an American sociologist, academic and author. He studied the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant establishment and is credited with popularizing the acronym ''WASP''. He was also a b ...

- Sociologist, academic and author. He became an eminent professor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. * Lenora Berson - Philadelphia political strategist and commentator. * Judith Eden - Philadelphia lawyer, civic activist, and anti-blight crusader. *

Daniel Hoffman Daniel Gerard Hoffman (April 3, 1923 – March 30, 2013) was an American poet, essayist, and academic. He was appointed the twenty-second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1973. Early life and education Hoffman ...

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(1973-1974) and author of works on

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

and

Paul Bunyan Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the or ...

. * Silas Weir Mitchell - Distinguished physician, Founder and first president of The Franklin Inn Club *

Howard Pyle Howard Pyle (March 5, 1853 – November 9, 1911) was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, and he spent the last year of his life in Florence, Italy. In 1894, he began ...

- Illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. Known for ''

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire'' is an 1883 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. Pyle compiled the traditional Robin Hood ballads as a series of episodes of a coherent narrative. For ...

'' (1883), ''

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights ''The Story of King Arthur and His Knights'' is a 1903 children's novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. The book contains a compilation of various stories, adapted by Pyle, regarding the legendary King Arthur of Britain and sel ...

'' (1903) among the books he authored. *

John C. Raines John Curtis Raines (October 27, 1933 in Minneapolis – November 12, 2017) was an American professor, activist, and whistleblower. He was a member of the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, which stole documents from an FBI office and expo ...

- Methodist minister, political activist, professor of religion at

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

for over 40 years. *

Nathan Sivin Nathan Sivin (11 May 1931 – 24 June 2022), also known as Xiwen (), was an American sinologist, historian, essayist, educator, and writer. He taught first at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then at the University of Pennsylvania until his r ...

aka Xiwen (席文), Eminent China scholar, historian, essayist, and writer. Emeritus Professor at University of Pennsylvania *

J. William White James William White (November 2, 1850 – April 24, 1916) was an American surgeon from Philadelphia. After participating in the Hassler expedition to the West Indies, he became a respected surgeon, teacher and author at the University of Pennsylv ...

- Surgeon, teacher, explorer, author, and early promoter of physical culture. Appointed to the John Rhea Barton Professorship of Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital from 1900 to 1912. *

Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing '' The Virginian'' and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Biography Early life ...

- Historian, novelist and “father” of

western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

. He is best remembered for writing '' The Virginian''. *

N. C. Wyeth Newell Convers Wyeth (October 22, 1882 – October 19, 1945), known as N. C. Wyeth, was an American painter and illustrator. He was the pupil of Howard Pyle and became one of America's most well-known illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 ...

- A pupil of artist

, became one of America's greatest illustrators. Wyeth created more than 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books. He's best known for illustrating

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

and

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

. His youngest son

Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century. In his ...

is one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1902 establishments in Pennsylvania Culture of Philadelphia