Philadelphia Club was founded in 1834 and is located at 13th and Walnut Streets in

Center City Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

. It is the oldest city club in the United States and one of the oldest

gentlemen's club A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally established by males from Britain's upper classes starting in the 17th century. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the ...

s. Notable members have included

George Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army and the Union army as Major General in command of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War from 1 ...

Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer. His novel ''The Virginian (novel), The Virginian'', published in 1902, helped create the cowboy as a folk hero in the United States and built Wister's reputation as the " ...

, and many members of the Du Pont and Biddle families.

History

19th century

The club's founders were a group of men who met to play cards at Mrs. Rubicam's Coffeehouse at the northwest corner of 5th & Minor Streets in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In early 1834, they moved around the corner to the Adelphia Building at 212 South 5th Street, taking the new building's name as the club's name. The Adelphia Club held its first recorded meeting on March 21, 1834. The following year, its members moved to the

Joseph Bonaparte Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...

house at 260 South 9th Street, and changed the club's name to The Philadelphia Club. Design of the Butler Mansion is attributed to William Strickland and was one of his few residential commissions. It was built as a city house for Thomas Butler, only son of South Carolina U.S. Senator Pierce Butler. Thomas Butler died before the building's 1838 completion, and it stood vacant until its 1849 purchase by The Philadelphia Club. The club added a billiard room, moved the kitchen to the basement, and opened its new clubhouse in 1850. It was altered in 1888-89 by

Frank Furness Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 – June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often inordinately scaled ...

, who designed a rear addition and expanded its kitchens and main dining room.

Wilson Eyre Wilson Eyre Jr. (October 30, 1858 – October 23, 1944) was an American architect, teacher and writer who practiced in the Philadelphia area. He is known for his deliberately informal and welcoming country houses, and for being an innovator in t ...

renovated its interiors a decade later, and additional alterations were done by

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of t ...

in 1905 and 1908, and by Mellor, Meigs & Howe in 1916.

George C. Boldt George Charles Boldt Sr. (April 25, 1851 – December 5, 1916) was a Prussian-born American hotelier. A self-made millionaire, he influenced the development of the urban hotel as a civic social center and luxury destination. Life and care ...

, hired in 1876 as a dishwasher, rose to become the club's steward and married the former steward's daughter. With financial backing from club members, he built the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia; he later built the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, also in Philadelphia, and he managed the

Waldorf Astoria Hotel Waldorf can have the following meanings: People * Stephen Waldorf (born 1957), film editor * William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (1848–1919), financier and statesman * Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor (1879–1952), businessman and po ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Jimmy Duffy, a

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and Social class in the United States, social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's onc ...

caterer, was the club's bartender from 1895 to 1929. In 1843, they moved to 919 Walnut Street. In 1850, the club moved to its current location, the Thomas Butler Mansion at 1301 Walnut Street. Frederick J. Benton the great-grandson of Joseph Bonaparte, was the owner of the nightspot in the 1930s early 1940s. Union Army General

was admitted to club membership only after winning the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

. Following Proclamation 87 - Celebration of George Washington's Birthday made by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

on February 19, 1862, Philadelphia celebrated the Birthday of President

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

with a military parade procession on Broad, Walnut and Chestnut Streets. The parade occurred on February 22, 1862, and was led by Major General

Robert Patterson Robert Patterson (January 12, 1792 – August 7, 1881) was an Irish-born American military officer who served in the United States Army during the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. He was the commander of the Pennsy ...

. The club celebrated this occasion with a tribute President Washington. Philadelphia artist Joseph Boggs Beale recorded the club's tribute in his diary:

The club house, 13th & Walnut, was illuminated with candles at every pane of glass, & had a beautiful American flag hanging so that the light on it showed it several squares away. In one of their windows they had a pure white marble head of Washington & the American flag (silk) covering the pedestal & this was set off with a dark red background and brilliantly lighted from above.

20th century

In 1931, during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, the Philadelphia Club was raided by members of the

Philadelphia Police Department The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD, Philly PD, or Philly Police) is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the County and City of Philadelphia. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police agencies, f ...

, led by Bronislaw Wielbaba, in an effort to seize illegal

spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

and

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

. According to Weilbaba's testimony, the police captured 401 quarts, 118 pints, and a 1-gallon jug of alcohol during the raid of member lockers on February 2, 1931. The only arrest made was of the club manager. In addition to card rooms, dining rooms, smoking rooms, and a bar, the Club contains a library, a large collection of Philadelphia prints, a collection of game trophy heads donated by

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Roosevelt III ( ; September 13, 1887 – July 12, 1944), often known as Theodore Jr.,Morris, Edmund (1979). ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. index.While it was President Theodore Roosevelt who was legally named Theodore Roosevelt Jr ...

and lodging rooms on its upper stories. In its first 119 years, women were admitted to the club on only three occasions: balls in January 1851 and January 1869 and the centennial reception in October 1934. In May 1953, the membership voted to allow women guests at dinners. Many restrictions have since been eased, but women remain excluded from membership.

Food

The Philadelphia Club features Veal and Ham Pie whose ancestor may be the "Travellers Pie," once a famous dish at London's

Travellers Club The Travellers Club is a private gentlemen's club situated at 106 Pall Mall in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest of the surviving Pall Mall clubs, established in 1819, and is one of the most exclusive. It was described as "the quintess ...

that features bacon and pork as well as veal and ham. The current chef is French native Pierre Calmels who originally came to Philadelphia to be chef for several years at Georges Perrier's Le Bec-Fin and then, with his wife Charlotte, had his own restaurant called Bibou in south Philadelphia. While many of the old classics are still on the menu at The Philadelphia Club, the culinary offerings are now world-class. Lunch is served daily Monday to Friday and dinner Thursday and Friday. There are also many specialty lunch and dinner events and private meals throughout the year.

Presidents and guests

The club's presidents have included Captain James Biddle, George H. Boker, Adolph E. Borie, General

George Cadwalader George Cadwalader (May 16, 1806 – February 3, 1879) was a general in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. Biography Cadwalader was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied law and was admitted to t ...

, Mayor

Richard Vaux Richard Vaux (December 19, 1816 – March 22, 1895) was an American politician who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district from 1890 to 1891 ...

, and

, who wrote the club's 1934 centennial history. Among the club's guests have been twelve U.S. presidents:

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth president of the United States, serving from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States secretary of state from 1817 to 1825. During his long diploma ...

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 ...

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States, serving from 1857 to 1861. He also served as the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and represented Pennsylvan ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

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 ...

William Howard 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. ...

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 ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

, and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

; soldiers and sailors

George B. McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey and as Commanding General of the United States Army from November 1861 to March 186 ...

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a General officer, general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognit ...

, William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody,

George Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, wi ...

George Goethals George Washington Goethals ( June 29, 1858 – January 21, 1928) was an American military officer and civil engineer, best known for his administration and supervision of the construction and the opening of the Panama Canal. He was the first G ...

and

Jack Keane John M. Keane (born 1 February 1943) is a retired American general who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1999 to 2003. He is a national security analyst, primarily on Fox News, and serves as chairman of the Institute ...

; writers, artists, actors and musicians:

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

Charles Kemble Charles Kemble (25 November 1775 – 12 November 1854) was a British actor from the prominent Kemble family. Life Charles Kemble was one of 13 siblings and the youngest son of English Roman Catholic theatre manager/actor Roger Kemble, and Ir ...

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

Booth Tarkington Newton Booth Tarkington (July 29, 1869 – May 19, 1946) was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his novels ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (1918) and ''Alice Adams (novel), Alice Adams'' (1921). He is one of only four novelists to w ...

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen, and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly a ...

Joseph Pennell Joseph Pennell (July 4, 1857 – April 23, 1926) was an American draftsman, etcher, lithographer, and illustrator for books and magazines. A prolific artist, he spent most of his working life in Europe, and developed an interest in landmarks, lan ...

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939), ...

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...

and

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...

; and other public men Talleyrand,

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (né Douglass; April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. As a United States Senate, U.S. senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party (United States) ...

Lord Randolph Churchill Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill (13 February 1849 – 24 January 1895) was a British aristocrat and politician. Churchill was a Tory radical who coined the term "One-nation conservatism, Tory democracy". He participated in the creation ...

, Grand Duke Alexander,

Oliver Wendell Holmes Oliver Wendell Holmes may refer to: People * Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (1809–1894), poet, physician, and essayist, father of the judge * Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841–1935), an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, son ...

Duarte Pio '' Dom'' Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (, born 15 May 1945), commonly known simply as Dom Duarte, is the current Duke of Braganza and a claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as the head of the House of Braganza. The Miguelist Braganzas, to w ...

Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Cabot Lodge (May 12, 1850November 9, 1924) was an American politician, historian, lawyer, and statesman from Massachusetts. A member of the History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served in the United States ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

Lord Louis Mountbatten Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (born Prince Louis of Battenberg; 25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979), commonly known as Lord Mountbatten, was a British statesman, Royal Navy off ...

, and

Henry Clay Henry Clay (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seventh Spea ...

.Rivinus, 24-26.

Status as the oldest club

The Philadelphia Club is the oldest City Club in the United States. Three rural social clubs for men are older, but none of them offers the facilities of a traditional gentlemen's city clubregular hours, paid staff, a bar, a dining room, lodging roomsthat are associated with the English model of city clubs in the

St. James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of it is still owned ...

district of London. The three older social clubs are: *The

South River Club The South River Club is a social club located just south of Annapolis in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The name also refers to the group's clubhouse, which was built in 1742. The club The South River Club (also known as "The Old South River Club ...

South River, Maryland South River is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. South River Club was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. See also *South Ri ...

, a fishing club that meets four times a year, was founded . *The

Schuylkill Fishing Company The Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania, also known as the State in Schuylkill, was the first angling club in the Thirteen Colonies and remains the oldest verified continuously operating social club in the English-speaking world. History Th ...

Andalusia, Pennsylvania Andalusia is a historic neighborhood and Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders Philadelphia along the Poquessing Creek. The area is the southernmost part of the township and o ...

, which meets informally at the Philadelphia Club during winter months, was founded in 1732. *The

Old Colony Club The Old Colony Club is one of the oldest gentlemen's clubs in the United States, founded in 1769 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. History The club was founded in January 1769, by Isaac Lothrop, Pelham Winslow, Thomas Lothrop, Thomas Mayhew, Elkana ...

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

, which meets on Friday nights and special occasions, was founded in 1769.

Notable members

William Wallace Atterbury William Wallace Atterbury (January 31, 1866 – September 20, 1935) Cited at New Albany Floyd County Public Library. Gale (publisher), Gale Biography In Context. was a brigadier general in the United States Army during World War I, who began his ...

Edward Fitzgerald Beale Edward Fitzgerald Beale (February 4, 1822 – April 22, 1893) was an American naval officer, frontiersman, rancher and diplomat. He fought in the Mexican–American War, emerging as a hero of the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846. He achieved n ...

Edward Julius Berwind Edward Julius Berwind (June 17, 1848 – August 18, 1936) was the founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. He was head of the company from 1886 until 1930. Early life Berwind was born on June 17, 1848, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. H ...

* Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle *

Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr. (December 17, 1897 – November 13, 1961) was an American diplomat who served as ambassador to several countries between the 1930s and 1961. He served in the United States Army during World Wars I and II, continuin ...

Francis Beverly Biddle Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during Nuremberg trials following World War I ...

* James Biddle * Livingston L. Biddle Jr. *

Moncure Biddle Moncure, founded in 1881, is a small rural unincorporated community in southeastern Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. Moncure and the neighboring community of Haywood form the Moncure census-designated place (CDP), which had a popu ...

* Curtis Bok *

George Henry Boker George Henry Boker (October 6, 1823 – January 2, 1890) was an American poet, playwright, and diplomat. Early years and education Boker was born in Philadelphia. His father was Charles S. Boker, a wealthy banker, whose financial expertise w ...

* Adolph E. Borie *

* John Cadwalader Jr. * Alexander J. Cassatt *

George William Childs George William Childs (May 12, 1829 – February 3, 1894) was an American publisher who co-owned the '' Public Ledger'' newspaper in Philadelphia with financier Anthony Joseph Drexel. Early life Childs was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on May ...

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. (July 7, 1920 – March 31, 2017) was an American attorney and judge. Coleman was the fourth United States Secretary of Transportation, from March 7, 1975, to January 20, 1977, and the second African American to serv ...

* Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. *

Anthony J. Drexel Anthony Joseph Drexel Sr. (September 13, 1826 – June 30, 1893) was an American banker who played a major role in the rise of modern global finance after the American Civil War. As the dominant partner of Drexel Burnham Lambert, Drexel & Co. of ...

Franklin D'Olier Franklin D'Olier (April 28, 1877December 10, 1953) was an American businessman who served as the first national commander of The American Legion from 1919 to 1920. He was also the grandfather of academic writer and poet F. D. Reeve, and the g ...

Henry Francis du Pont Henry Francis du Pont (May 27, 1880 – April 11, 1969) was an American horticulturist, collector of early American furniture and decorative arts, breeder of Holstein Friesian cattle, and scion of the powerful du Pont family. Converted into ...

* Edwin H. Fitler *

Thomas Sovereign Gates Thomas Sovereign Gates (March 21, 1873 – April 8, 1948) was an American investment banker and educator. He was the first president of the University of Pennsylvania from 6 October 1930 until 1944, and was the father of United States Secretary ...

* Thomas S. Gates Jr. * Charles Gilpin *

Robert Goelet Robert Goelet Jr. (September 29, 1841 – April 27, 1899) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. Early life Goelet was born on September 29, 1841, in Manhattan, New York City, to Sarah Ogden ...

* T. Truxtun Hare *

Howard Henry Howard Houston Henry (June 19, 1882February 12, 1919) was an American football player. He played college football for the Princeton Tigers football team and was selected as a consensus All-American at the halfback position in 1903. Before Prin ...

* George Howe *

John G. Johnson John Graver Johnson (1841, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – April 13, 1917, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American corporate lawyer and art collector. The Philadelphia law firm that he founded in 1863 continues under the name Saul Ewing. ...

Gerry Lenfest Harold FitzGerald "Gerry" Lenfest (May 29, 1930 – August 5, 2018) was an American lawyer, media executive, and philanthropist. Lenfest, along with his wife Marguerite, were among the most prominent Philadelphia-based philanthropists in his ...

William Draper Lewis William Draper Lewis (1867–1949) was the first full-time dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (1896–1914), and the founding director (1923–1947) of the American Law Institute. Personal life and education William Draper ...

James McCrea James McCrea (1848–1913) was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1907 to 1913. Biography James was born May 1, 1848, in Philadelphia, United States, in a long line of McCreas who came to Delaware and Pennsylvania near two hundred ...

* Robert L. McNeil Jr. *

Boies Penrose Boies Penrose (November 1, 1860 – December 31, 1921) was an American politician from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who served as a Republican member of the United States Senate for Pennsylvania from 1897 to 1921. He served as a member of th ...

Spencer Penrose Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865 – December 7, 1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune from mining, ore processing, and real estate speculation in Colorado and other parts of the West. He founded the Utah Copp ...

Eli Kirk Price II Eli Kirk Price II (1860 – January 24, 1933) was a prominent American Philadelphia lawyer, called "the foremost civic and cultural leader in early twentieth-century Philadelphia". He was the commissioner of Fairmount Park during the planning an ...

Samuel Rea Samuel Rea (September 21, 1855 – March 24, 1929) was an American engineer and the ninth president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, serving from 1913 to 1925. He joined the PRR in 1871, when the railroad had hardly outgrown its 1846 charter to bu ...

William T. Read William Thackara Read (November 22, 1878 – August 7, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey. Read Read was born on November 22, 1878, in Camden, New Jersey, the son of William Thackara Read and Lucretia Swindell McCormic ...

* George M. Robeson *

Joseph George Rosengarten Joseph George Rosengarten (July 14, 1835 – January 14, 1921) was a Philadelphia lawyer, historian, and Civil War veteran. He served on the staff of General John F. Reynolds. Early life and education Joseph George Rosengarten was born in ...

* Robert Montgomery Scott *

Thomas A. Scott Thomas Alexander Scott (December 28, 1823 – May 21, 1881) was an American businessman, railroad executive, and industrialist. In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him to serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of War, and during the American ...

* Frank Thomson *

Charlemagne Tower Jr. Charlemagne Tower Jr. (April 17, 1848February 24, 1923) was an American businessman, scholar, and diplomat. Biography Charlemagne Tower was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1848, to Charlemagne Tower Sr. and Amelia Malvina (Bartle ...

Ethelbert Watts Ethelbert Watts (February 25, 1846 – July 13, 1919) was a United States diplomat for over twenty-four years, who played important roles in the Spanish–American War, Russo-Japanese War, and World War I. Early life Watts was born in Philadelph ...

Piers Wedgwood, 4th Baron Wedgwood Piers Anthony Weymouth Wedgwood, 4th Baron Wedgwood (20 September 1954 – 29 January 2014) was the fourth Baron Wedgwood of the pottery dynasty. After initially following a military career, he later worked as an international ambassador for t ...

Francis Wharton Francis Wharton (March 7, 1820 – February 21, 1889) was an American legal writer, theologian, and educator. Life Wharton was descended from an accomplished Quaker family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, although his father had become an Episco ...

George D. Widener Jr. George Dunton Widener Jr. (March 11, 1889 – December 8, 1971) was an American thoroughbred racing owner and horse breeding, breeder. He raised 102 Stakes race, stakes winners, won the Travers Stakes a record-tying five times, and was the first p ...

Isaac J. Wistar Isaac Jones Wistar (November 14, 1827 – September 18, 1905) was an American lawyer, miner, farmer, soldier, and author. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, in which he was wounded twice, and was noted for his critici ...

Langhorne Wister Langhorne Wesley Wister (September 20, 1834 – March 19, 1891) was an American military officer who served in the Union army during the American Civil War. He raised a company and served as captain of the 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment ...

Clarence C. Zantzinger Clarence Clark Zantzinger (1872–1954) was an American architect and public servant in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Life Clarence was born in Philadelphia, the son of Alfred Zantzinger (1839–1873) and Sarah Crawford Clark. Alfred was a medical ...

Critical assessment

In an April 2008 article from the gossip publication, ''

Philadelphia Magazine ''Philadelphia'' (also called "''Philadelphia'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "Phillymag", once called ''Greater Philadelphia'') is a regional monthly magazine published in Philadelphia by the Lipson family of Philadelphia and its com ...

'' described the club:

Reciprocal Relationships

Union Club of the City of New York The Union Club of the City of New York (commonly known as the Union Club) is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City that was founded in 1836. The clubhouse is located at 101 East 69th Street on the corner of ...

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* Maryland Club *

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* Newport Reading Room * Oglethorpe Club *

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* Sallskapet in

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* Haagsche Club in

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* The Travellers in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

* Domino Club in

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Vincent's Club Vincent's Club, popularly known as Vinnie's, is a private members' club in Oxford. The club's membership consists predominantly, but not exclusively, of sporting blues of the University of Oxford.Lack, Alastair.'Once a member, always a member ...

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* Circolo della Caccia of Rome *

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of Florence

References

Notes Bibliography * Bell, Malcolm Jr. "Major Butler's Legacy." (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1987) * Freedman, Paul. (2017-04-07) "The Fascinating History of Food at Private Clubs.

* Klaus, William R. "This Old House." ( privately printed, 1999). * Lippincott, Horace Mather. "The Philadelphia Club," ''Early Philadelphia: Its People, Life and Progress'' (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1917), pp. 300–02. * Rivinus, F. Markoe. ''The Philadelphia Club, 1934-1984'' (privately printed, 1984). * Wister, Owen
''The Philadelphia Club, 1834-1934''
(privately printed, 1934). * Wainwright, Nicholas B. "Education of an Artist: The Diary of Joseph Boggs Beale."

External links

from Bryn Mawr College.
The Philadelphia Club
from wikimapia. {{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia Club Philadelphia Club, 1834 establishments in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Philadelphia Clubs and societies in Philadelphia History of Philadelphia Organizations based in Philadelphia Organizations established in 1834 Philadelphia Register of Historic Places Gentlemen's clubs in Pennsylvania