The Brook is a private club located at 111 East

54th Street 54th Street is a two-mile-long (3.2 km), one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan. Notable places, west to east Twelfth Avenue *The route begins at Twelfth Avenue ( New York Route 9A). Opposite the intersection is the N ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It was founded in 1903 by a group of prominent men who belonged to other New York City private clubs, such as the

Knickerbocker Club The Knickerbocker Club (known informally as The Knick) is a gentlemen's club in New York City that was founded in 1871. It is considered to be the most exclusive club in the United States and one of the most aristocratic gentlemen's clubs in th ...

and the Union Club.New Club is Launched
" ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' (Apr. 2, 1903). The name is derived from the

Alfred Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

poem ''The Brook'', whose lines "For men may come and men may go, but I go on for ever" were consistent with the intention that the Club would provide 24-hour service and would never close its doors. In 1992, the ''City Journal'' wrote that the name was "supposed to mean that the Club is always open and the conversation flows on forever," but that "neither is strictly true." One version of the club's origin holds that The Brook was formed by two young men who had been expelled from the Union Club for trying to poach an egg on the

bald Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarrin ...

head of another club member. When the club was formed, it was announced that membership was only by private invitation and would be limited to 100 men. New York City residents who were not club members would not be admitted as guests. Membership, however, was not restricted to New York City residents—some original members came from Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia. In 1954 the membership was 400 men. The Club's building, erected in 1925, was designed by the architecture firm of

Delano & Aldrich Delano & Aldrich was an American Beaux-Arts architectural firm based in New York City. Many of its clients were among the wealthiest and most powerful families in the state. Founded in 1903, the firm operated as a partnership until 1935, when Ald ...

, which also designed the houses of the Union Club, the

Knickerbocker A Knickerbocker is a person from Manhattan (New York City, before 1898). A modern synonym is “New Yorker”. Knickerbocker or Knickerbockers may also refer to: People * Knickerbocker (surname), including a list of people with the surname, and ...

, and other exclusive clubs.

Notable members, past and present

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sink ...

, richest man in America at the time – died in the ''Titanic'' * Michael R. Bloomberg, resigned his membership before becoming a candidate for

Mayor of New York The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

before later becoming a member again in 2011. *

William A. Chanler William Astor "Willie" Chanler (June 11, 1867 – March 4, 1934) was an American soldier, explorer, and politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York. He was a son of John Winthrop Chanler. After spending several years exploring Eas ...

, explorer, soldier and US Congressman *

Michel David-Weill Michel David-Weill (November 23, 1932 – June 16, 2022) was an investment banker and Chairman of Lazard and Eurazeo. Early life Michel David-Weill was born into a Jewish family on November 23, 1932. His father, Pierre David-Weill (1900–19 ...

, French investment banker and former Senior Partner of

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* Admiral James L. Holloway III *

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...

, former Secretary of State *

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, billionaire financier * William K. Vanderbilt II *

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Other

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, wore a Brook Club hatband in the 1953 film ''

The Band Wagon ''The Band Wagon'' is a 1953 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Vincente Minnelli, starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. It tells the story of an aging musical star who hopes a Broadway show will restart his career. However, ...

''The Great Club Revolution
by

Cleveland Amory Cleveland Amory (September 2, 1917 – October 14, 1998) was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator and animal rights activist. He originally was known for writing a series of popular books poking fun at the pretensions an ...

, ''

American Heritage Magazine ''American Heritage'' is a magazine dedicated to covering the history of the United States for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes.

'', December 1954, Volume 6, Issue 1 *

John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the '' New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family. Early life Whi ...

, visited The Brook and was treated as a member, but he was never actually a member of the club.Aldrich, Nelson W
''Old Money: The Mythology of Wealth in America''
(Allworth Communications, Inc., 1996) , , pages 50-51.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brook, The Midtown Manhattan 1903 establishments in New York City Delano & Aldrich buildings Gentlemen's clubs in New York City

Notable members, past and present

Other

See also

References