Union Club of the City of New York

Description

The Union Club of the City of New York is an exclusive private social club in New York City, founded in 1836. It is located at East 69th Street and Park Avenue in a landmark building designed by Delano & Aldrich that opened on August 28, 1933. The Union Club is the oldest private club in New York City and the third oldest in the United States, after The Old Colony Club, in Plymouth, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1769, and the Philadelphia Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1834. The club is considered one of the most prestigious in New York City.ClubhouseThe current building is the club's sixth clubhouse and the third built specifically for the members. The prior two clubhouses were at Fifth Avenue and 21st Street, occupied from 1855 to 1903; and on the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, a limestone clubhouse occupied from 1903 to 1933.In 1927, club members voted to move uptown, to a quieter and less crowded location. They hired architects William Adams Delano and Chester Holmes Aldrich — who had previously designed buildings for the Knickerbocker Club, the Brook Club, and the Colony Club — to design their new clubhouse. The Union moved to its current location in 1933. The building is known for its opulence and idiosyncratic details. At one point the building featured five dining rooms and a humidor with 100,000 cigars. Notable rooms include the card room, the backgammon room, the library, and the lounge (off the squash courts).