The Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club was a private social club founded in 1919 and located at 283

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along it ...

between East 36th and 37th Streets in the Murray Hill neighborhood of

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It was the only private organization in the New York area accommodating U.S. servicemen and servicewomen at subsidized rates. It also catered to military retirees and veterans and their families.

Mission

According to the club, its mission was:

"To promote the general welfare of men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States and its Allies, and their families, by maintaining and offering club and lodging rooms"

History

In 1919, Cornelia Barnes Rogers and Eleanor Butler Alexander-Roosevelt, wife of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., along with General John J. Pershing, founded The Soldiers' and Sailors' Club to accommodate servicemen returning from overseas duty in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The Club originally served only active duty enlisted male soldiers and sailors, but it now serves all ranks (officers and enlisted) and services, active and retired, of the United States and its allies. With no U.S. government funding, supported solely by guest proceeds and the donations of private citizens, it has accommodated over 2.5 million men and women of the

US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

and their families. Currently, about 15,000 such personnel patronize the facility annually. In recent years the SSMAC Club has tended to incur an annual deficit of around $350,000. One of the largest fundraisers for the club is the prestigious

International Debutante Ball The International Debutante Ball is an invitation-only, formal debutante ball, to officially present well-connected young ladies of distinction from upper-class families to high society. Founded in 1954, it occurs every two years at the Waldo ...

held biannually at the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze ...

in New York City. The club was closed and sold in 2018.

Facility

Since the early 1920s, the SSMAC Club has occupied two adjacent 19th century

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...

s on Lexington Avenue between 36th and 37th Streets. These were built in the 1880s as homes for the upper middle class of that period. It is now a 79-bed facility that includes a library with two Internet stations, two large event rooms (North Lounge, South Lounge; both on the 1st floor), a television room, and a dining room. The walls of both common areas and private rooms are replete with U.S. military memorabilia, especially relating to

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. (Private rooms are dedicated to individual veterans, families and other donors having provided pictures, certificates, etc. A small room at the back of the 1st floor memorializes Lt. Col. (

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

)

Serge Obolensky Prince Sergei Platonovich Obolensky Neledinsky-Meletzky (November 3, 1890 – September 29, 1978), known as Serge Obolensky, was a Russian-born aristocrat then American citizen, U.S. Army colonel, socialite and publicist. He served as vice chair ...

References

{{refimprove, date=February 2013

External links

The SSMAC Club website in Archive.org
1919 establishments in New York (state) Clubs and societies in the United States Veterans' affairs in the United States Murray Hill, Manhattan Gentlemen's clubs in the United States United States military support organizations Clubs and societies in New York City

Mission

History

Facility

See also

References

External links