Philadelphia Club was founded in 1834 and is located at 13th and

Walnut Street Walnut Street may refer to: * Walnut Street (Philadelphia) *Walnut Street (Pittsburgh) *Walnut Street station (disambiguation) Walnut Street station may refer to: * Walnut Street station (SEPTA), a SEPTA trolley station in Upper Darby, Pennsylvani ...

s in Center City, Philadelphia. It is the oldest city club in the United States and one of the oldest gentlemen's clubs. Notable members have included George Meade, Owen Wister, and many members of the

Du Pont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

and Biddle families.

History

Founding

The club's founders were a group of men who met to play cards at Mrs. Rubicam's Coffeehouse at the northwest corner of 5th & Minor Streets in Philadelphia. In early 1834, they moved around the corner to the Adelphia Building at 212 South 5th Street, taking the new building's name as the club's name. The Adelphia Club held its first recorded meeting on March 21, 1834. The following year, its members moved to the Joseph Bonaparte house at 260 South 9th Street, and changed the club's name to The Philadelphia Club. In 1843 they moved to 919 Walnut Street, and in 1850 the club moved to its current location, the Thomas Butler Mansion at 1301 Walnut Street. Frederick J. Benton the great-grandson of Joseph Bonaparte, was the owner of the nightspot in the 1930s early 1940s.

American Civil War

Union Army General George Meade was admitted to club membership only after winning the Battle of Gettysburg.

Presidents Day

Following Proclamation 87 - Celebration of George Washington's Birthday made by President Abraham Lincoln on February 19, 1862, Philadelphia celebrated the Birthday of President

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

with a military parade procession on Broad, Walnut and Chestnut Streets. The parade occurred on February 22, 1862 and was led by Major General

Robert Patterson Robert Patterson (January 12, 1792 – August 7, 1881) was an Irish-born United States major general during the American Civil War, chiefly remembered for inflicting an early defeat on Stonewall Jackson, but crucially failing to stop Confede ...

. The Club celebrated this occasion with a tribute President Washington. Philadelphia artist Joseph Boggs Beale recorded the Club's tribute in his diary:

The club house, 13th & Walnut, was illuminated with candles at every pane of glass, & had a beautiful American flag hanging so that the light on it showed it several squares away. In one of their windows they had a pure white marble head of Washington & the American flag (silk) covering the pedestal & this was set off with a dark red background and brilliantly lighted from above.

Prohibition

In 1931, during Prohibition, the Philadelphia Club was raided by members of the Philadelphia Police Department, led by Bronislaw Wielbaba, in an effort to seize illegal spirits and wine. According to Weilbaba's testimony, the police captured 401 quarts, 118 pints, and a 1-gallon jug of alcohol during the raid of member lockers on February 2, 1931. The only arrest made was of the club manager.

Clubhouse

Design of the Butler Mansion is attributed to William Strickland and was one of his few residential commissions. It was built as a city house for Thomas Butler, only son of South Carolina U.S. Senator Pierce Butler. Thomas Butler died before the building's 1838 completion, and it stood vacant until its 1849 purchase by The Philadelphia Club. The club added a billiard room, moved the kitchen to the basement, and opened its new clubhouse in 1850. It was altered in 1888-89 by

Frank Furness Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 - June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often unordinarily scaled b ...

, who designed a rear addition and expanded its kitchens and main dining room. Wilson Eyre renovated its interiors a decade later, and additional alterations were done by Horace Trumbauer in 1905 and 1908, and by

Mellor, Meigs & Howe Mellor, Meigs & Howe (1916–28) was a Philadelphia architectural firm best remembered for its Neo-Norman residential designs. Mellor & Meigs (1906–17 & 1928–40) Mellor & Meigs, its predecessor and successor firm, was founded ...

in 1916. George C. Boldt, hired in 1876 as a dishwasher, rose to become the club's steward and married the former steward's daughter. With financial backing from club members, he built the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia; he later built the

Bellevue Stratford Hotel The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel is a landmark building at 200 S. Broad Street at the corner of Walnut Street in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Constructed in 1904 and expanded to its present size in 1912, it has continued as a well-known ...

, also in Philadelphia, and he managed the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. Jimmy Duffy, a Philadelphia Main Line caterer, was the club's bartender from 1895 to 1929. In addition to card rooms, dining rooms, smoking rooms, and a bar, the Club contains a library, a large collection of Philadelphia prints, a collection of game trophy heads donated by

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Roosevelt III ( ), often known as Theodore Jr.Morris, Edmund (1979). ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. index.While it was President Theodore Roosevelt who was legally named Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the President's fame made it simple ...

and lodging rooms on its upper stories.

Food

The Philadelphia Club features Veal and Ham Pie whose ancestor may be the "Travellers Pie," once a famous dish at London's Travellers Club that features bacon and pork as well as veal and ham.

Presidents and guests

Among the club's presidents have been Captain

James Biddle James Biddle (February 18, 1783 – October 1, 1848), of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Capt. Nicholas Biddle, was an American commodore. His flagship was . Education and early career Biddle was born in Ph ...

, George H. Boker,

Adolph E. Borie Adolph Edward Borie (November 25, 1809 – February 5, 1880) was a United States merchant and politician who briefly served (1869) as Secretary of the Navy in the Ulysses S. Grant administration. A native of Philadelphia, Borie was born into the ...

, General

George Cadwalader George Cadwalader (May 16, 1806 – February 3, 1879) was a general in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. Biography Cadwalader was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied law and was admitted to th ...

, Mayor

Richard Vaux Richard Vaux (December 19, 1816 – March 22, 1895) was an American politician. He was mayor of Philadelphia and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and education Richard Vaux was born in Philadelphia, P ...

, and Owen Wister, who wrote its 1934 centennial history. Among the club's guests have been twelve U.S. presidents: John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, James K. Polk,

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, William McKinley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald R. Ford, and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

; soldiers and sailors George B. McClellan, William Tecumseh Sherman, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, George Dewey,

George Goethals George Washington Goethals ( June 29, 1858 – January 21, 1928) was a United States Army General and civil engineer, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. He was the State E ...

and Jack Keane; writers, artists, actors and musicians: William Makepeace Thackeray, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Henry Irving,

Charles Kemble Charles Kemble (25 November 1775 – 12 November 1854) was a Welsh-born English actor of a prominent theatre family. Life Charles Kemble was one of 13 siblings and the youngest son of English Roman Catholic theatre manager/actor Roger Kemble ...

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American actor who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Theatre in New York. Some theatri ...

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and '' Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to win the Pulitze ...

, John Barrymore, Joseph Pennell, Leopold Stokowski,

Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr., (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best known for starring in such films as ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939) ...

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 ...

, Eugene Ormandy, Louis Kahn and Roger Scruton; and other public men Talleyrand,

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British statesman. Churchill was a Tory radical and coined the term 'Tory democracy'. He inspired a generation of party managers, created the National Union of ...

, Grand Duke Alexander, Oliver Wendell Holmes,

Duarte Pio Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (Portuguese: ''Duarte Pio de Bragança'': born 15 May 1945) is the current Duke of Braganza, claimant to the title of List of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal of the dormant List of Portuguese monarchs, Portugues ...

, Henry Cabot Lodge,

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, Lord Louis Mountbatten, and

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

. In its first 119 years, women were admitted to the club on only three occasions: balls in January 1851 and January 1869 and the centennial reception in October 1934. In May 1953 the membership voted to allow women guests at dinners. Many restrictions have since been eased, but women remain excluded from membership.Rivinus, 30-32. In the mid 1970s, the club hired a woman barber, Isabella Judith Devaney, who worked there for 18 years before leaving due to health problems.

Status as the "oldest club"

The Philadelphia Club is the oldest gentlemen's club in the United States. Three social clubs for men are older, but none of them offers the facilities of a traditional gentlemen's clubregular hours, paid staff, a bar, a dining room, lodging roomsthat are associated with the English model of city clubs in the

St. James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the d ...

district of London. The three older social clubs are: *The South River Club in South River, Maryland, a fishing club that meets four times a year, was founded . *The

Schuylkill Fishing Company The Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania, also known as the State in Schuylkill, was the first angling club in the Thirteen Colonies and remains the oldest continuously operating social club in the English-speaking world. History The club wa ...

in Andalusia, Pennsylvania, which meets informally at the Philadelphia Club during winter months, was founded in 1732. *The Old Colony Club in

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known as ...

, which meets on Friday nights and special occasions, was founded in 1769.

Notable members

* William Wallace Atterbury * Edward Fitzgerald Beale *

Edward Julius Berwind Edward Julius Berwind (June 17, 1848 – August 18, 1936) was the founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. He was head of the company from 1886 until 1930. Early life Berwind was born on June 17, 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He w ...

* Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle * Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. *

Francis Beverly Biddle Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well a ...

Livingston L. Biddle, Jr. Livingston Ludlow Biddle Jr. (1918 – 2002) was an American author and promoter of funding of the arts, from a wealthy Pennsylvania family. Life Livingston Ludlow Biddle was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 1918. His mother was Eugini ...

* Curtis Bok *

George Henry Boker George Henry Boker (October 6, 1823 – January 2, 1890) was an American poet, playwright, and diplomat. Early years and education Boker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was Charles S. Boker, a wealthy banker, whose financi ...

* John Cadwalader, Jr. *

Alexander J. Cassatt Alexander Johnston Cassatt (December 8, 1839 – December 28, 1906) was the seventh president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), serving from June 9, 1899, to December 28, 1906. Family and early life Alexander Cassatt was born on December 8, ...

* George William Childs *

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (July 7, 1920 – March 31, 2017) was an American attorney and judge. Coleman was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, from March 7, 1975, to January 20, 1977, and the second African American to ser ...

* Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. *

Anthony J. Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel & Co. of Philadelphia, he founde ...

Franklin D'Olier Franklin D'Olier (April 28, 1877December 10, 1953) was an American businessman who served as the first national commander of American Legion, The American Legion from 1919 to 1920. He was also the great-grandfather of actor Christopher Reeve. ...

* Henry Francis du Pont * Wilson Eyre * Edwin H. Fitler * Thomas Sovereign Gates *

Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Thomas Sovereign Gates Jr. (April 10, 1906March 25, 1983) was an American politician and diplomat who served as Secretary of Defense from 1959 to 1961 and Secretary of the Navy from 1957 to 1959, both under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. During ...

* Charles Gilpin * Robert Goelet * T. Truxtun Hare *

Howard Henry Howard Houston Henry (June 19, 1882February 12, 1919) was an American football player. He played college football for the Princeton Tigers football team and was selected as a consensus All-American at the halfback position in 1903. Before Prin ...

* George Howe *

John G. Johnson John Graver Johnson (1841, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – April 13, 1917, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American corporate lawyer and art collector. The Philadelphia law firm that he founded in 1863 continues under the name Saul Ewing. H ...

Gerry Lenfest Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest (May 29, 1930 – August 5, 2018) was an American lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist. In 2004, he was honoured to be a member of the American Philosophical Society. Early life and career Lenfest was bor ...

William Draper Lewis William Draper Lewis (1867–1949) was the first full-time dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1896–1914), and the founding director (1923–1947) of the American Law Institute. Personal life and education William Draper ...

* James McCrea *

Robert L. McNeil Jr. Robert Lincoln McNeil Jr. (July 13, 1915 – May 20, 2010) was an American chemist and pharmaceutical industry executive. He was responsible for, among other things, the commercial development, naming, and introduction of the pain reliever T ...

* George Meade * Boies Penrose * Spencer Penrose *

Eli Kirk Price II Eli Kirk Price II (1860 – January 24, 1933) was a prominent American Philadelphia lawyer, called "the foremost civic and cultural leader in early twentieth-century Philadelphia". He was the commissioner of Fairmount Park during the planning an ...

* Samuel Rea * William T. Read *

George M. Robeson George Maxwell Robeson (March 16, 1829 – September 27, 1897) was an American politician and lawyer from New Jersey. A brigadier general in the New Jersey Militia during the American Civil War, he served as Secretary of the Navy, appointed by Pr ...

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. Theodore Roosevelt III ( ), often known as Theodore Jr.Morris, Edmund (1979). ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. index.While it was President Theodore Roosevelt who was legally named Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the President's fame made it simple ...

* Joseph George Rosengarten * Robert Montgomery Scott *

Thomas A. Scott Thomas Alexander Scott (December 28, 1823 – May 21, 1881) was an American businessman, railroad executive, and industrialist. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, and during the American ...

* Frank Thomson *

Charlemagne Tower, Jr. Charlemagne Tower Jr. (April 17, 1848February 24, 1923) was an American businessman, scholar, and diplomat. Biography Charlemagne Tower was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1848 to Charlemagne Tower Sr. and Amelia Malvina (Bartle ...

Ethelbert Watts Ethelbert Watts (February 25, 1846 – July 13, 1919) a United States diplomat for over twenty-four years, played important roles in the Spanish–American War, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. Early life Watts was born in Philadelphia on Fe ...

* Piers Wedgwood, 4th Baron Wedgwood * Francis Wharton *

George D. Widener, Jr. George Dunton Widener Jr. (March 11, 1889 - December 8, 1971) was an American businessman and thoroughbred racehorse owner; one of only five people ever designated "Exemplars of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Early l ...

* Isaac J. Wistar *

Langhorne Wister Langhorne Wesley Wister (September 20, 1834 – March 19, 1891) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War. Biography Wister was born in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 20, 1834. His father, William Wister, wa ...

* Owen Wister * Clarence C. Zantzinger

Critical assessment

In an April 2008 article from the gossip publication, ''

Philadelphia Magazine ''Philadelphia'' (also called "''Philadelphia'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "Phillymag", once called ''Greater Philadelphia'') is a regional monthly magazine published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by the Lipson family of Philadelphia ...

'' described the club:

References

Notes Bibliography * Bell, Malcolm, Jr. "Major Butler's Legacy." (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1987) * Freedman, Paul. (2017-04-07) "The Fascinating History of Food at Private Clubs.

* Klaus, William R. "This Old House." ( privately printed, 1999). * Lippincott, Horace Mather. "The Philadelphia Club," ''Early Philadelphia: Its People, Life and Progress'' (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1917), pp. 300–02. * Rivinus, F. Markoe. ''The Philadelphia Club, 1934-1984'' (privately printed, 1984). * Wister, Owen
''The Philadelphia Club, 1834-1934''
(privately printed, 1934). * Wainwright, Nicholas B. "Education of an Artist: The Diary of Joseph Boggs Beale."

External links

from Bryn Mawr College.
The Philadelphia Club
from wikimapia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Club Philadelphia Club, Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Organizations based in Philadelphia Organizations established in 1834 Gentlemen's clubs in the United States History of Philadelphia 1834 establishments in Pennsylvania Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Clubs and societies in Philadelphia