The Portland Club is a social club at 156 State Street in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
.
Services and facilities
The Portland Club is located in the Hunnewell-Shepley Mansion, on the south side of State Street, between Pine and Spring Streets, on the east side of Portland's
West End. The Federal style mansion was built in 1805 to a design by
Alexander Parris
Alexander Parris (November 24, 1780 – June 16, 1852) was a prominent American architect-engineer. Beginning as a housewright, he evolved into an architect whose work transitioned from Federal style architecture to the later Greek Revival. Parr ...
, with later Colonial Revival updates by
John Calvin Stevens
John Calvin Stevens (October 8, 1855 – January 25, 1940) was an American architect who worked in the Shingle Style, in which he was a major innovator, and the Colonial Revival style. He designed more than 1,000 buildings in the state of Maine ...
. It has housed the club since 1921.
The building is an important local work by Parris, a Boston architect who, under the direction of Joseph Ingraham, helped to define much of Portland's skyline with his beautiful structures. The building was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1973.
The Portland Club holds many meetings of social and political interest. The mansion itself is home to many paintings and antiques that are original to the club, along with over 12 antique mahogany pool tables on the second floor. The Portland Club has a history of being on the top for all of the social events in Portland, as well as having the history of being one of the first clubs to bring
women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
into the organization as The Woman's Portland Club.
The Club currently hosts seasonal dinner meetings with lectures, brunches, and various social events..
History
The Portland Club began in 1886 as
Fred N. Dow and a group of influential friends decided to organize their informal gatherings into a club. The men's purpose was to "discuss current events," and though never part of the by-laws, to promote the
Republican Party agenda. Because Republicans controlled Maine's government, the club was widely recognized as the ''de facto'' seat of political power for decades. The club acquired the mansion in 1921 and has been the home of The Portland Club ever since.
See also
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References
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Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine
Houses completed in 1805
Buildings and structures in Portland, Maine
1805 establishments in Massachusetts
Houses in Portland, Maine
Clubhouses in Maine
National Register of Historic Places in Portland, Maine
Historic district contributing properties in Maine