University Club of Washington, DC
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The University Club of Washington, D.C., is an American
private club A club is an voluntary association, association of people united by a common interest or goal. A service club, for example, exists for voluntary or charitable activities. There are clubs devoted to hobbies and sports, social activities clubs, po ...
in
downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, United States.


History

The first organizational meeting of The University Club of Washington, DC was held at the new Willard Hotel on February 22, 1904. A historic spot in its own right, the Willard had just reopened (the first time). Sixty-six university and college alumni gathered to form The University Club - 24 other cities had already formed such clubs. The first Clubhouse was located at 1726 I Street, NW. On the evening of March 11, 1904, the first President elected was then Secretary of War,
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
, an active Club member. Later the Club moved into its new quarters, a brownstone at 930 Sixteenth Street, NW. The Club developed a most appropriate theme: "Enter all of ye who have a degree of good fellowship and learning." In 1936, it merged with the Racquet Club of Washington, and moved to its current location at 1135 Sixteenth Street NW, approximately three blocks north of the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. During the
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justices
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitution ...
and
Hugo Black Hugo Lafayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist who served as a U.S. Senator from Alabama from 1927 to 1937 and as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1937 to 1971. A ...
would often use the Club's facilities to informally discuss and gather.


Reciprocity

The Club has reciprocal agreements for its members with approximately 200 other athletic, country, and city clubs around the United States and the world.


Athletics

The Club contains a health and fitness center including two international
squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
courts where it hosts the annual Mosquito Open. The
Tewaaraton Award The Tewaaraton Award is an annual award for the most outstanding American college lacrosse men's and women's players, since 2001. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy. The award is presented by The Tewaaraton Foundation and t ...
was founded at the Club in 2000 and is presented annually to the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
player of the year. It is the lacrosse equivalent of football's
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...
. The trophy is presented jointly by The Tewaaraton Foundation and the University Club of Washington, D.C.. One trophy is presented to the top men's player, and one trophy is presented to the top women's player each year.


Notable members

Notable past and current Club members include former Speaker of the
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Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...
, former
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Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, numerous
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Justices, former
Homeland Security Secretary The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
Tom Ridge Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served as the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003, and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2003 to 2005. ...
, and former
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Donald Rumsfeld Donald Henry Rumsfeld (July 9, 1932 – June 29, 2021) was an American politician, government official and businessman who served as Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under president Gerald Ford, and again from 2001 to 2006 under Presi ...
.


See also

*
Cosmos Club The Cosmos Club is a 501(c)(7) private social club in Washington, D.C. that was founded by John Wesley Powell in 1878 as a gentlemen's club for those interested in science. Among its stated goals is, "The advancement of its members in science, ...
*
List of American gentlemen's clubs The following is a list of notable traditional gentlemen's clubs in the United States, including those that are now defunct. Historically, these clubs were exclusively for men, but most (though not all) now admit women. On exclusivity and as ...
*
Metropolitan Club (Washington, D.C.) The Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington is a private club in Washington, D.C. ''The New York Times'' called it "Washington's oldest and most exclusive club". History On October 1, 1863, six U.S. Treasury Department officials met to dis ...
*
Sixteenth Street Historic District The Sixteenth Street Historic District is a linear historic district in Washington, D.C., that includes all structures along 16th Street NW between H Street and Florida Avenue. The district's southern boundary is bordered by Lafayette Square, ...


References


External links


University Club of Washington, DC
{{coord, 38, 54, 17.7, N, 77, 02, 09.5, W, region:US-DC, display=title 1904 establishments in Washington, D.C. Clubhouses in Washington, D.C. Gentlemen's clubs in the United States