The Denver Press Club, located at 1330 Glenarm Place,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, is the oldest press club in the United States. Journalists first met in 1867, and the club was incorporated in 1877.

History

Members first met in the basement of

Wolfe Londoner Wolfe Londoner (July 4, 1842 – November 23, 1912) was an American politician who served as the mayor of Denver, Colorado from 1889 to 1891. Biography He was born on 4 July 1842 to parents Herman Londoner and Rachel Hearst in New York City, Ne ...

's grocery store on Larimer Street but outgrew the space and met at various hotels in Denver.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

and

William Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

were the only two presidents to receive an honorary membership in the form of a solid gold-and-silver membership card to the Denver Press Club. During the 1908 National Democratic Convention, the Denver Press Club served as press headquarters and organizers of the convention's social entertainment. In 1925, members decided to have their own building and chose architects Merill H. and

Burnham Hoyt Burnham Hoyt (February 3, 1887 – April 3, 1960) was a prominent mid-20th-century architect born in Denver, Colorado. Early years Born in North Denver, Burnham Hoyt was the son of Lydia Tompkins Hoyt and Wallace Hoyt, a carriage designer w ...

to design the building. The Denver Press Club building was built by Francis Kirchof for approximately $50,000, paid mostly with the sale of Who's Who in the Rockies. In 1945, artist

Herndon Davis Herndon Davis (1901–1962) was an American artist, journalist, illustrator, and painter. He worked at the National War College in Washington, D.C., creating maps of China and Japan. Davis was an illustrator for New York, Washington, D.C., and Denv ...

painted a wall-size mural of Denver journalists in the club's basement poker room. It remains there today. In 1986, the building was designated an Historic Landmark by the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission. The

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...

deemed it as a "significant historical place in journalism" in 2008. It was listed on the

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 ...

in 2017. Today, the club's more than 400 members represent print and broadcast media, advertising and public relations, and an assortment of other professions. The roster has included

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning journalists, cartoonists, and other notables, including

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American journalist and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway theatre, Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Proh ...

Eugene Field Eugene Field Sr. (September 2, 1850 – November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the "poet of childhood". Early life and education Field was born in St. Louis, Missouri ...

Gene Fowler Gene Fowler (born Eugene Devlan) (March 8, 1890 – July 2, 1960) was an American journalist, author, and dramatist. Biography Fowler was born in Denver, Colorado. When his mother remarried during his youth, he took his stepfather's name to be ...

Frederick Gilmer Bonfils Frederick Gilmer Bonfils (December 21, 1860 – February 2, 1933) was an American businessman and publisher who, alongside Harry Heye Tammen, owned ''The Denver Post'', the '' Kansas City Post'', and the Sells Floto Circus. Early life Born in ...

, Palmer Hoyt,

Lowell Thomas Lowell Jackson Thomas (April 6, 1892 – August 29, 1981) was an American writer, Television presenter, broadcaster, and documentary filmmaker. He authored more than fifty non-fiction books, mostly travel narratives and popular biographies of ex ...

, Lee Taylor Casey,

Paul Conrad Paul Francis Conrad (June 27, 1924 – September 4, 2010) was an American political cartoonist and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning. In the span of a career lasting five decades, Conrad provided a critical perspect ...

Pat Oliphant Patrick Bruce "Pat" Oliphant (born 24 July 1935) is an Australian-born American artist whose career spanned more than sixty years. His body of work primarily focuses on American and global politics, culture, and corruption; he is particularly k ...

Thomas Hornsby Ferril Thomas Hornsby Ferril (February 25, 1896 – October 27, 1988) was a poet in the U.S. state of Colorado. A journalist who specialized in corporate public relations, he studied and wrote poetry as an avocation. In his later years of life (1979– ...

, Carl Akers, Starr Yelland,

Stormy Rottman Leon "Stormy" Rottman (1918 - January 15, 1993) was an American weather forecaster and television host. After his experience with reporting weather conditions for the U.S. Air Force during World War II and the Korean War, Rottman began a civilian c ...

Lou Kilzer Lou Kilzer (February 10, 1951 – March 27, 2024) was an American investigative journalist and author and a two time Pulitzer Prize Winner. Career Journalism Kilzer began work as a journalist in 1973 after graduating ''cum laude'' in philosophy ...

, Greg Lopez, Bob Palmer, Gene Amole, Sam Lusky, Rob Scoggins Jr., and Don Kinney. The Denver Press Club's cornerstone

Award is presented annually to a person or persons whose career has embodied the style and verve of the legendary DPC alumnus.Denver Press Club History
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References

{{Reflist Mass media in Colorado Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Denver Buildings and structures in Denver