The California Club is an invitation-only

private club A club is an 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, political and religious ...

established in 1888, based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. According to the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', "The people who run Los Angeles belong to the

Jonathan Club __NOTOC__ Jonathan Club is a social club with two California locations—one in Downtown Los Angeles and the other abutting the beach in Santa Monica. The club is routinely ranked as one of the top clubs in the world by Platinum Clubs of Americ ...

; the people who own Los Angeles belong to the California Club." The California Club maintains a mandatory requirement that all new member candidates wishing to gain entry must receive invitations from no less than six existing club members, pass a series of interviews by the club's membership committee, and undergo additional background and reference checks in order to obtain admission. In April 2005, the club was ranked #13 in the "Centrality Rankings" by

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay ...

sociologist

G. William Domhoff George William "Bill" Domhoff (born August 6, 1936) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and research professor of psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a founding faculty member of UCSC's Cowell College. He ...

in his research about social clubs, policy-planning groups, corporations, and ruling-class cohesiveness. The club is also ranked as the third most exclusive private club in the United States.

Organizational history

The California Club was incorporated on December 24, 1888. The first organizational meeting was held September 24, 1887, with N.C. Coleman as chairman and H.T. DeWilson as secretary.

"The constitution and bylaws of the Union Social Club, of San Francisco, was reported and accepted without any change by the body of gentlemen assembled. There was considerable discussion on the ... name of the club, and ... it was decided to call it the California Club, of Los Angeles. The section in the bylaws granting army and navy officers all the privileges of members upon half-rate caused considerable feeling among the members. Four votes were taken on the question, and at last it was decided to allow the bylaws to read as they have for twenty-five years in the Union Club."

The club's first location was in the second-floor rooms over the Tally-Ho Stables on the northwest corner of First and Fort (Broadway) streets, where the Los Angeles County Law Library now stands. It moved to the Wilcox Building on the southeast corner of Second and Spring streets in 1895, occupying the two top floors, the fourth and fifth. The building was the first in Los Angeles to have two elevators—one for the public and the other for members. The men's dining room, reading room, bar and lounge were on the top floor. On the floor below was the ladies' dining room. The club stayed in the Wilcox Building for a decade before moving because of its growing membership. In 1904, the club's headquarters moved to a five-story building on Fifth and Hill streets. At various times in its history, the California Club was accused of discrimination against women, African Americans, Jews, and other minorities. The California Club did not admit African Americans or women until the 1980s. In a vote taken in June 1987, 90 percent of the voting members favored admitting women. In addition, the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

in May 1987 voted, 12–0, to ban discriminatory practices at institutions in Los Angeles like the California Club. Since that time, the Club has maintained a non-discriminatory policy for admission to membership.

The current clubhouse

The current seven-story clubhouse was completed on August 25, 1930, after construction was started in late 1928. The building was designed by Robert D. Farquhar, an architect trained at the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris. The American Institute of Architects awarded Farquhar the Distinguished Honor Award for the design of the California Club building. According to the National Park Service:

"The structure is considered one of the most important buildings of the architect Robert D. Farquhar. Built in 1930, The Italian Renaissance Revival style building, with its setbacks and tower, was among the largest buildings in the immediate area when the site was chosen. Elements like the private forecourt, which partially shields the front entrance and first floor, provides the club with a sense of privacy and understated design."

The building was listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on July 6, 2010. The listing was featured in the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

's weekly list of July 16, 2010. In addition to antiques and handcrafted furniture, the clubhouse is decorated with a collection of Western-themed, ''

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting is c ...

'' paintings by such American landscape painters as J. Bond Francisco, Elmer Wachtel, Franz A. Bischoff, George Kennedy Brandriff, William Wendt and Paul Lauritz.

Notes

References

* Maynard McFie, ''The History of the California Club''.

External links

The California Club website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles Clubs and societies in California Culture of Los Angeles Organizations based in Los Angeles Gentlemen's clubs in California Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Organizations established in 1887 1887 establishments in California 19th century in Los Angeles Buildings and structures completed in 1930 1930 establishments in California 1930s architecture in the United States Italian Renaissance Revival architecture in the United States Renaissance Revival architecture in California

Organizational history

The current clubhouse

See also

Notes

References

External links