The Tuxedo Club is a private member-owned

country club A country club is a privately-owned Club (organization), club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Ty ...

located on West Lake Road in the village of

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 645 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name ...

, in the

Ramapo Mountains The Ramapo Mountains are a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York, in the United States. They range in height from in New Jersey, and in New York. Several parks and forest preserves e ...

. Founded in 1886 by

Pierre Lorillard IV Pierre J. Lorillard IV (October 13, 1833 – July 7, 1901) was an American tobacco manufacturer and thoroughbred race horse owner. Early life Born in Westchester, New York, he was the son of Pierre Lorillard III (1796–1867) and Catherine ...

, its facilities now include an 18-hole

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

course,

lawn tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

court tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

racquets Rackets or racquets is an indoor list of racket sports, racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. It is infrequently called "hard rackets" to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (sport), squash (also cal ...

, squash, platform tennis, olympic-sized pool, and boating. The

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and North American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal ...

was first introduced to America by New York millionaire James Potter at the club's first Autumn ball in 1886, after a trip to England.

History

The original clubhouse, designed by

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle style architecture, Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modern ...

, was built in 1886 and demolished in 1927.

John Russell Pope John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an American architecture, architect whose firm is widely known for designing major public buildings, including the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 193 ...

's clubhouse was constructed on the original stone foundations the following year. The clubhouse is U-shaped, with stucco over wood frame, low hipped slate roof, stone embedded in stucco, leaded glass casements, and mullions forming crossettes in continuous fenestration. Located at the foot of Tuxedo Lake, it commands a view to the other end of lake and two ranges of wooded hills. A lawn extends between the club house and the lake. To the northwest of the clubhouse is the court tennis and racquet house, also on West Lake Road. Designed by architects

Warren and Wetmore Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm based in New York City, a partnership established about 1889 by Whitney Warren (1864–1943) and Charles D. Wetmore (1866–1941). They had one of the most extensive practices of their time, and were e ...

, it was built between 1890 and 1900. Made of Bickley cement and supported by stone and brick arches in the basement, these courts became a model for future courts built in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They have full galleries for spectators. The original glass roof with canvasses has been replaced with artificial light.

Golf course

The golf course does not sit near the main clubhouse facility. It is roughly away just outside the gates of the private community known as Tuxedo Park where the main club, tennis club and pool are located. The golf course is actually the third golf course of the club, as the first became the Blair estate and the second was overtaken by the

New York State Thruway The New York State Thruway (officially the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway and colloquially "the Thruway") is a system of controlled-access toll roads spanning within the U.S. state of New York. It is operated by the New York State Thruway ...

, forcing the move of the course to the new location near the Eagle Valley section of Tuxedo. The course existing today was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. It is an 18-hole championship course.

References

External links

The Tuxedo Club
{{coord, 41, 9, 47, N, 74, 14, 3, W, type:landmark, display=title 1886 establishments in New York (state) Golf clubs and courses in New York (state) Golf clubs and courses designed by Robert Trent Jones Racquets venues Real tennis venues Squash venues in the United States Tennis venues in New York (state) Sports venues in New York (state) Clubs and societies in the United States Ramapos Lorillard family Sports venues in Orange County, New York Warren and Wetmore buildings Bruce Price buildings Tennis clubs in the United States