The Penn 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 ...

. It was organized on March 18, 1875, with a mission to heighten awareness of arts and culture at the time of the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

History

With an original home on 8th and Locusts streets in Philadelphia, the Club came to existence after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and prior to the Centennial Exhibition. The organizers were among those whose characters had been formed during the period of the war and that of the reconstruction that followed. Morton McMichael, Jr. made the lease of 720 Locust Street with

Horace Howard Furness Horace Howard Furness (November 2, 1833 – August 13, 1912) was an American Shakespearean scholar of the 19th century. Life and career Horace Furness was the son of the Unitarian minister and abolitionist William Henry Furness (1802–1896), ...

. James P. Sims arranged the scheme of decoration and designed the mantel upon which McMichael and Wharton Barker placed the statue of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, modeled in plaster by Muller. Henry Armitt Brown hung the picture said to represent William Penn. The membership was limited to 200. The first president of the Club was

Wharton Barker Wharton Barker (May 1, 1846 – April 9, 1921) was an American financier and publicist who held influence in the Republican presidential selection during the 1880s and was a rival Populist presidential candidate in 1900. Life Wharton Barker was ...

(1846–1921), who was a prominent

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and president of the

Philadelphia Stock Exchange Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX), now known as Nasdaq PHLX, is the first stock exchange established in the United States and the oldest stock exchange in the nation. The exchange is owned by Nasdaq, which acquired it in 2007 for $652 million, a ...

. He was also one of the original fifty members who founded the Union Club, which later became the

Union League of Philadelphia The Union League of Philadelphia is a private club founded in 1862 by the Old Philadelphians as a patriotic society to support the policies of Abraham Lincoln. As of 2022, the club has over 4,000 members. Its main building was built in 1865 and ...

Purpose

The intention of the Club is expressed in its charter: The Penn Club continues to this day, and meets in

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the city borders to be coterminous wi ...

. The club is named for William Penn, and has no historical or current association with 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 ...

. The club's motto is: "Dum Clavum Teneam", which is taken from the Penn family's coat of arms.

References

*Cohen, Charles J., (1924). ''History of The Penn Club''. John C. Winston Company, Philadelphia. *Hubbard, Cortlandt van Dyke, (1976). ''History of The Penn Club''. The Winchell Company, Philadelphia (LOC #77-71621). *
William Penn: an address delivered before the Penn Club of Philadelphia, October 27, 1877, the one hundred and ninety-fifth anniversary of the landing at Upland (1877)

President Papadakis Honored by Penn Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penn Club of Philadelphia Organizations based in Philadelphia Organizations established in 1875 Gentlemen's clubs in the United States Arts organizations established in the 1870s Clubs and societies in Pennsylvania 1875 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

Purpose

See also

References