The Manhattan Club was a social club in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York founded in 1865 and dissolved around 1979. The club was founded by Attorney General John Van Buren, son of U.S. President

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as Attorney General o ...

History

Designed to be the Democratic answer to the Union Club, its prominent members included Samuel J. Tilden,

August Belmont August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and politician. He served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872. He was also a thoroughbred racehors ...

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

, Alfred E. Smith, Herbert H. Lehman,

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Jimmy Walker and Beau James, was an American attorney, lyricist, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 97th mayor of New York City from 1926 until his resign ...

and Robert F. Wagner Other prominent members included writer Edgar Saltus, Augustus Schell, Dean Richmond and John T. Hoffman. In 1885 it was listed as the residence of Robert Barnwell Roosevelt, the uncle of Theodore Roosevelt. The Manhattan Club was organized on September 25, 1865 at

Delmonico's Delmonico's is a series of restaurants that have operated in New York City, and Greenwich, Connecticut, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan. The origin ...

on 14th Street at Fifth Avenue. Its first home was the Benkard House at 96 Fifth Avenue near the corner of 15th Street (called "Old 96" by members), followed by the A.T. Stewart Mansion on 34th Street at Fifth Avenue. From 1899 to 1966, it occupied the Jerome Mansion, at which time the building was sold to a developer and subsequently was torn down. The Manhattan Club then moved to a suite of rooms at the Barclay Hotel previously occupied by the

Cornell Club of New York The Cornell Club of New York, usually referred to as The Cornell Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Its membership is restricted to alumni and faculty of Cornell University, family of Cornellians, business associates ...

and then functioning mainly as a luncheon club. Around 1979, its suites were converted into conference rooms and the Manhattan Club was closed.

Ambiguous Democratic Party Legacy

Despite having been conceived as a Democratic Party bastion during the U.S. Civil War, in its later days, the members of the Manhattan Club were often decidedly Republican in sympathies. In 1954, a survey of the men's social clubs of Manhattan noted that the club had become "ninety percent Republican." A half-century earlier, the significant majority of members supported Republican

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until Assassination of William McKinley, his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...

's bid for President of the United States, triggering letters of resignation from members who wanted it to be a Democratic Club.

Invention of the Manhattan Cocktail

A popular history suggests that the Manhattan cocktail originated at the club in the early 1870s, where it was invented by Dr. Iain Marshall for a banquet hosted by Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill, Winston's mother) in honor of presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden. The success of the banquet made the drink fashionable, later prompting several people to request the drink by referring to the name of the club where it originated—"the ''Manhattan'' cocktail".See

Manhattan (cocktail) A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail ...

Painting by Childe Hassam

The exterior of the club was featured in an 1891 painting by

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

when it was at the Stewart Mansion.

Murder of Stanford White

On June 26, 1906,

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect and a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms at the turn of the 20th century. White designed many houses ...

was shot dead by Harry K. Thaw, the eccentric millionaire, after leaving the Manhattan Club. The murder took place three blocks south in what was then

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manhattan Club (social club) Clubs and societies in the United States Political history of New York City Democratic Party (United States) organizations 1865 establishments in New York (state) 1979 disestablishments in New York (state)