Penn Club of New York

The Penn Club of New York (usually referred to as Penn Club) is an American private, social club located on Clubhouse Row in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, as a designated landmark. The club is headquartered at 30 West 44th Street, a 14-story building originally occupied by the Yale Club of New York City.[2][3] For numerous consecutive terms, The Penn Club won the Platinum Club of America award, placing it in the top 3% among 6,000 clubs in the U.S. for perceived excellence, and ranked #14 best city club in the U.S., and #2 city club in New York City.[4]

Penn Club of New York
Formation1901 (1901) (incorporated)
Type501(c)7 not-for-profit, private social club
Headquarters30 West 44th Street
Location
ServicesDining, bar, hotel, meeting rooms, business center, library, events, fitness center, spa, massage
Membership
5,000+ globally
OwnerUniversity of Pennsylvania
Websitepennclub.org
Building details
Former namesYale Club of New York City (1900-1916),
Delta Kappa Epsilon (1916-1925),
Army and Navy Club of America (1925-1933),
U.S. Maritime Service Center HQ (1944),
Organized Reserve Corps of the Army (1947-1949),
Army Reserve School (1949)
NYC Mayor John Lindsay's Congressional Office
Touro College (1971-1988)
General information
TypeClubhouse
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
LocationManhattan
Town or cityNew York City
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°45′19″N 73°58′54″W
Construction startedOctober 1900
CompletedMay 1, 1901
Renovated1992–1994
Cost$250,000 (equivalent to $8,143,000 in 2021)
OwnerTrustees of the University of Pennsylvania
Technical details
Floor count14
Grounds5,038 sq ft (468.0 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Evarts Tracy and Egerton Swartwout
Architecture firmTracy and Swartwout
DeveloperThe Yale Club of New York City
Main contractorMarc Eidlitz & Son
Renovating team
Architect(s)David P. Helpern Architects
Website
Official website
DesignatedFebruary 9, 2010[1]
Reference no.2379[1]

History

In November 1886, the first local group of University of Pennsylvania alumni outside of Philadelphia was formed in New York over dinner at Delmonico's Restaurant. At the alumni group's annual banquet at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in January 1900, they presented a plan to secure "a convenient suite of rooms in the middle of the city, adjacent to a cafe."

Royalton Hotel location

On October 6, 1900, the University of Pennsylvania's Club of New York opened in four ground-floor rooms in the Royalton Hotel, just 200 feet (61 m) west of today's clubhouse. The Penn Club soon had more than 150 members at a time when only 400 alumni lived in the New York area, and received its charter from the New York Legislature in 1901.

Hotel Stanley

In 1905, the Club moved to "new and commodious quarters" in the Hotel Stanley at 124 West 47th Street, where it remained until 1910. Between 1911 and 1922, however, the Club did away with a clubhouse, instead focusing on their annual banquet.

Townhouses

In 1922, after a three-year search, the club's directors leased two townhouses on East 50th Street, next to what today is the New York Palace Hotel. Throughout the 1920s, the Penn Club on East 50th Street was active and successful. Its dining and guest rooms were regularly filled and its dinners and programs were highly attended. The Great Depression, though, quickly hit the club hard, and it vacated its townhouses in 1935.

Cornell Club, Phi Gamma Delta Club, and Biltmore Hotel

Thereafter, it shared space in the Cornell Club on East 38th Street, moved to two other clubs, and finally settled in the Phi Gamma Delta Club on West 56th Street, where it remained until 1961, when it moved to the Biltmore Hotel. The Club stayed in the Biltmore Hotel until the hotel was gutted and made an office tower in 1981 by Paul Milstein.

Former Yale Club HQ at 30 West 44th Street
Main article: 30 West 44th Street

The Penn Club's next clubhouse was at 30 West 44th Street, developed between 1900 and 1901 for the Yale Club of New York City. The Yale Building Company was formed to oversee the clubhouse's development, obtaining a mortgage loan to fund the project.[5][6] The architects filed plans with the New York City Department of Buildings in July 1900,[7][8] and Marc Eidlitz & Son began work on the building that October.[5] The building cost $250,000 (equivalent to $8,143,000 in 2021),[9][10] with furnishings amounting to $300,000 total clubhouse costs.[11] The Yale Club opened its building on May 1, 1901,[12][13] and occupied it until 1915.[14] The building was next occupied by the newly-organized Delta Kappa Epsilon from 1917[15] to 1925.[16] The Army and Navy Club of America occupied the structure from 1925[16] to 1933 when it went bankrupt.[17] After standing vacant for a decade, the building was acquired by the federal government of the United States in 1943.[18] The building housed the United States Maritime Service Center during World War II in 1944,[19] then the Organized Reserve Corps of the Army from 1948[20] to 1949, then the Army Reserve School in 1951.[21]In 1971, the government donated 30 West 44th Street to the newly-established Jewish Touro College.[22] The Touro Law Center opened at 30 West 44th Street in 1981, and the college bought another main building elsewhere.[23]

In 1989, the university trustees bought the then-11 story building at 30 West 44th Street for $15 million.[24][25] After raising an additional $25 million (including $150,000+ donations each from Estee Lauder heirs Leonard Lauder and Ronald Lauder, as well as Donald Trump, Saul Steinberg, Michael Milken, and Ronald Perelman), and commissioning David P. Helpern Architects for two years of renovation including a three-level addition for its current 14-story building,[26] the Penn Club Of New York moved to its current location on West 44th Street between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue, opening its owned-doors in 1994. Penn alumni Bennett Weinstock and Judie Weinstock imported numerous furniture pieces for the clubhouse, including brass chandeliers, walnut tables, and vases.[26]

30 West 44th Street was the first university clubhouse in New York City to be designed as a high-rise structure. All prior, multi-story clubhouses (i.e. the University Club of New York) were designed as low-rise buildings, downplaying their height.[27] Designed by Tracy and Swartwout[28][27] in the Beaux-Arts style,[1] the ornately decorated facade is made of brick, Indiana limestone,[9] and terracotta manufactured by New York Architectural Terra Cotta.[29][30] The ornately decorated facade on 44th Street is made of brick, Indiana limestone, and terracotta; the first two stories are clad with rusticated limestone blocks, while the upper stories are largely clad with brick and terracotta. Above the base, the facade is split into a six-story midsection, a three-story mansard roof, and a three-story setback penthouse.[31]

Clubhouse Row and social networking

Situated at 30 West 44th Street, the Penn Club is located on Clubhouse Row[32] directly in front of the Harvard Club of New York at 27 West 44th, on the same block as the Cornell Club of New York at 6 East 44th and New York Yacht Club at 37 West 44th, and a block away from the Yale Club of New York City on East 44th (and Vanderbilt) and defunct Princeton Club of New York at 15 West 43rd (absorbed into Penn Club) for inter-club events. Despite being in New York City, Columbia University is in residence at The Penn Club, while Dartmouth shares with the Yale Club and Brown shares the Cornell Club.

On the same block, the New York City Bar Association Building and the Royalton Hotel are to the west, while the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen Building, the Century Association Clubhouse, and the Hotel Mansfield are to the east.[33] Other buildings on the street include the Algonquin, Iroquois, and Sofitel New York hotels to the northwest, and the Aeolian Building, Salmon Tower Building, 500 Fifth Avenue, and 510 Fifth Avenue on the block immediately to the south.[33] A Penn Club spokesperson said 30 West 44th Street was selected for its proximity to Manhattan's Theater District, Grand Central Terminal, and other alumni clubhouses.[32]

The club hosts annual events including an inter-club New Year's Eve celebration and members-only celebrations on all major holidays[34] managed by staff, with regular social networking events in intellectual, professional, and personal subjects managed by member committees.

Amenities

All members enjoy full use of the high-rise, 14-story clubhouse and its services, including two restaurants and bars: the double-story Main Dining Room (which requires a jacket for men) featuring a dining foyer, balcony for musicians, and reception area, can be rented for events on weekends; the Grill Room,[35] accessed by a spiral marble staircase beneath the foyer, features a mahogany bar, a recreation of the Old King Cole mural, other furnishings, and a sushi chef.[36]

Its Benjamin Franklin Lounge Room (named after the university's founder) features a fireplace, piano, paintings of Penn leaders such as Franklin and President Amy Gutmann on oak-paneled walls, and 24/7 library for members to checkout books,[37] and the business center has workspaces and conference rooms. In addition to 39 guestrooms rentable to members and their sponsored guests on five floors, each themed to different alumni and student accomplishments,[38] there is a Palestra Fitness Center and 13th-floor terrace.[39] Membership also includes access to a members-only Penn Club website and app directory, and committees for member networking.[40]

Under a reciprocity agreement, members may also use the squash courts at the Yale Club of New York City, and have access to more than 150 reciprocal private clubs worldwide,[41] including yacht clubs, country clubs, and golf clubs. Members could also visit the now defunct Princeton Club of New York, whose members now belong to the Penn Club.[42]

Membership

Penn Club membership is restricted to alumni, faculty, full-time staff, and students over the age of 21 of the University of Pennsylvania, with a shortlist of schools being able to share the club as affiliate members, including Princeton University, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Vanderbilt University, Trinity College (Connecticut),[43] Emory University, Washington College, Villanova University, and Fordham University.[44] The club offers legacy memberships to spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, and siblings of University of Pennsylvania-affiliated members.

With more than 5,000 members around the world, The Penn Club is controlled by its members and managed by staff, although the University of Pennsylvania owns the clubhouse building and leases it to the club, a 501(c)7 not-for-profit entity. The university's development and alumni relations department maintains a regional office in the clubhouse.

Notable members
  • In the first episode of Season 5 of The Apprentice, the winning team was rewarded with lunch with Donald Trump at the Penn Club.

See also

References
  1. Landmarks Preservation Commission 2010, p. 1.
  2. "Engineers' Club Building" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-05. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  3. "hapPENNings" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2014-12-18.
  4. "Membership - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  5. Landmarks Preservation Commission 2010, p. 5.
  6. "Yale Club Meeting". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 25, 1900. p. 10. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  7. "Real Estate". New-York Tribune. July 18, 1900. p. 14. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  8. "The Building Department". The New York Times. July 18, 1900. p. 10. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 95972445.
  9. "The Yale Club's New Home". The Hartford Courant. May 4, 1901. p. 16. ProQuest 554989642.
  10. "The Yale Club House: an Eleven Story Building Devoted to Bachelor Apartments and Club Uses". New-York Tribune. May 5, 1901. p. 1. ProQuest 570988331.
  11. "Yale Club's New Home; To be Formally Opened -- Banquet to Celebrate Its Completion". The New York Times. May 1, 1901. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  12. "Yale's Clubhouse Open". New-York Tribune. May 2, 1901. p. 6. ProQuest 571016001.
  13. "New Yale Club: Fine Building in New York Opens Its Doors". The Hartford Courant. May 1, 1901. p. 1. ProQuest 554983113.
  14. "Yale's New Skyscraper Club; The Twenty-one-Story Building Recently Opened to the Sons of Old Eli Is Unique in College Clubs". The New York Times. July 11, 1915. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  15. "Open House at D.K.E. Club; Women in Afternoon and Men in Evening See New Quarters". The New York Times. January 14, 1917. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  16. "Army & Navy Club Buys D. K. E. Realty: West Forty-fourth Street Structure to Be Occupied by Buyers This Fall". The New York Times. June 23, 1925. p. 38. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103534117.
  17. "Army-navy Club Files as Bankrupt; Reductions in Service Pay Are Blamed -- Lehman and Gen. Harbord Are Creditors". The New York Times. June 1, 1933. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  18. "Army and Navy Club Sold For a Maritime Institute". The New York Times. December 3, 1943. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  19. "Dedicating the New Home of the Maritime Service". The New York Times. June 25, 1944. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  20. "Army Reserve Units Take Over Building". The New York Times. March 17, 1948. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  21. "Reserves Expand City Area Training; Army Schools Advance Officers and Enlisted Men in Their Service Specialties Field Training Requirement Staff Course at Pine Camp". The New York Times. March 2, 1951. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  22. Handler, M. S. (March 14, 1971). "Federal Building Given to College". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  23. O'Neill, Maureen (July 9, 1982). "Law School Moving to Huntington Station". Newsday. p. 19. ProQuest 993206660.
  24. "Summary of landmark hearing" (PDF). nycnpc.org. February 9, 2010. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
  25. "Yale Club of New York City Building – HDC". hdc.org. 21 June 2018.
  26. Moonan, Wendy (July 14, 1994). "Currents; Clubhouse for Penn". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  27. Gray, Christopher (July 9, 1989). "Streetscapes: The Old Yale Club; Make Way for the Blue and Gold". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  28. Stern, Gilmartin & Massengale 1983, p. 240.
  29. "Untitled". Brickbuilder. Vol. 9. Sep 1900. p. 97. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  30. Landmarks Preservation Commission 2010, p. 6.
  31. Landmarks Preservation Commission 2010, pp. 10–11.
  32. Slatin, Peter (May 9, 1993). "Penn's Racing to Join Clubhouse Row". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
  33. "30 West 44 Street, 10036". New York City Department of City Planning. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  34. "Annual Events - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  35. "Dining - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  36. "Benefits of Belonging - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  37. "Library - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  38. "Guest Rooms". Penn Club of New York. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  39. "Fitness & Massage - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  40. "Societies - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  41. "Benefits of Belonging - Penn Club of New York".
  42. Chao, Eveline (January 7, 2022). "It Wasn't Just the Pandemic That Closed the Princeton Club". Curbed. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  43. "Benefits and Resources".
  44. "Welcome to the Penn Club of New York - Penn Club of New York". www.pennclub.org.
  45. Bass, Dina (January 28, 1997). "Trump gives over $100,000 to Penn Club". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  46. Ferre Sadurni, Luis (November 3, 2016). "Donald Trump may have donated over $1.4 million to Penn". The Daily Pennsylvanian.
  47. "Seen at the Penn Club - Penn Club of New York".
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