The College Club of Boston is a private membership organization founded in 1890 as the first women's college club in the United States. Located in the historic

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

of Boston, Massachusetts at 44 Commonwealth Avenue, the College Club was established by nineteen college educated women whose mission was to form a social club where they and other like-minded women could meet and share companionship. The College Club of Boston the oldest residential college club in the United States.

History

In December 1890, 76 Marlborough Street, also located in Boston's

, became the first home of The College Club. The building at 76 Marlborough was purchased by Club member Mabel Cummings in 1893. The Club was designed by

Mary Almy Mary Almy (1883–1967) was an American architect, and a partner at Howe, Manning & Almy, Inc., one of the first architecture firms founded by women in the United States and specializing in domestic architecture. She studied architecture at t ...

. In April 1905, the College Club acquired the clubhouse at 40 Commonwealth Avenue, which contained an Old English drawing room, a fine big cafe with a male chef, and seven bedrooms, each of which "were furnished and decorated in the colors of various women's colleges: crimson rambler wallpaper for

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, blue silk curtains for Wellesley, white (with brass beds) for

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

, dawn pink and gray for Vassar." At that time, the College Club served 600 members, which grew to 1,243 members by 1915. In 1924 the Club purchased 44 Commonwealth Avenue, which was the family home of Royal E. Robbins, a major stockholder in the

Waltham Watch Company The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., was a company that produced about 40 million watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time delay fuses, and other precision instruments in the Un ...

, and once the home of American

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

actress

Maude Adams Maude Ewing Adams Kiskadden (November 11, 1872 – July 17, 1953), known professionally as Maude Adams, was an American actress who achieved her greatest success as the character Peter Pan, first playing the role in the 1905 Broadway production ...

. The brownstone townhouse was built in 1864 and was designed in the High Victorian style. From its earliest days, The College Club was host to prominent writers including Mark Twain,

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bor ...

, poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, and novelist

F. Marion Crawford Francis Marion Crawford (August 2, 1854 – April 9, 1909) was an American writer noted for his many novels, especially those set in Italy, and for his classic weird and fantastical stories. Early life Crawford was born in Bagni di Lucca, in th ...

. Other well-known visitors to the Club have included actress Sarah Bernhardt, social activist

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

, abolitionist and suffragist Lucy Stone, health care advocate

Judy Norsigian ''Our Bodies, Ourselves'' is a book about women's health and sexuality produced by the nonprofit organization Our Bodies Ourselves (originally called the Boston Women's Health Book Collective). First published in 1970, it contains information re ...

and Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Club members took up the cause of educational philanthropy in 1985 and established The College Club Scholarship Fund, Inc. as an IRS 501(c)(3) designated

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

. The endowed fund is administered by Club members. Each year since 1986, the Scholarship Fund has awarded

college tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

assistance to deserving high school seniors from Boston Public Schools. On May 20, 2002, the City of Boston certified the club's status as the oldest (i.e., first) women's college club in the United States.

References

Notes Sources * * * *

External links

Official website
of The College Club of Boston
Neighborhood
of The College Club of Boston Charities based in Massachusetts Back Bay, Boston Clubs and societies in Boston Cultural history of Boston Educational charities based in the United States Financial endowments Organizations established in 1890 Scholarships in the United States Victorian architecture in Massachusetts Women's clubs in the United States History of women in Massachusetts Women in Boston {{Authority control

History

See also

References

External links