University Club of New York

Manhattan, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The University Club of New York, a prestigious private social club at 1 West 54th Street in Midtown Manhattan, occupies a nine-story granite-faced Renaissance Revival structure completed in 1899 and designed by Charles Follen McKim, himself a club member. Founded in 1865 to promote literature and art—evolving from the Red Room Club established by Yale alumni in 1861—the club struggled with financing until its reorganization in 1879 restored its popularity. The clubhouse interior is organized functionally across its stories: a reception area on the first floor, library rooms on the fourth, and a dining area on the seventh, with additional mezzanines containing bedrooms and club rooms, a basement swimming pool and bath, and squash courts on the tenth story. Originally restricted to male members, the club began admitting women in 1986. The building is designated a New York City landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Architect

McKim, Mead & White

Movement

Mediterranean Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture

Type: clubhouse, social club
Heritage: New York State Register of Historic Places listed place, New York City Landmark
Place: Manhattan, United States

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Location

40.76130, -73.97560