Century Association
Encyclopedia
__notoc__The Century Association is a private club
in New York City
. It evolved out of an earlier organization – the Sketch Club, founded in 1829 by editor and poet William Cullen Bryant
and his friends – and was established in 1847 by Bryant and others as a club to promote interest in the fine arts and literature which was open to "Artists, Literary Men, Scientists, Physicians, Officers of the Army and Navy, members of the Bench and Bar, Engineers, Clergymen, Representatives of the Press, Merchants and men of leisure." It was originally intended to have a limited membership of 100 men. Its early members included Bryant, painters Asher Durand, Winslow Homer
, and John Frederick Kensett
, architect Stanford White
, judge Charles Patrick Daly
, author Lewis Gaylord Clark
and architect Calvert Vaux
, the co-creator with Frederick Law Olmsted
of Central Park
. However, by the middle 1850s, the membership primarily consisted of merchants, businessmen, lawyers and doctors.
The Century possesses a notable art collection, including important works by Asher Durand, Thomas Cole
, Thomas Doughty
, and other Hudson River School
painters. It is also an important venue for the exhibition of contemporary art created by its members.
In 1989, after a strenuous legal battle, the club was compelled to start admitting women members.
and Irving Place, and was built in 1869 as designed by Charles Gambrill and Henry Hobson Richardson
, both members of the club. The clubhouse was one of Richardson's early works, before he became one of the most influential architects in the United States, and he joined the team after Gambrill, who was later his partner, had already begun the design: Richardson added the mansard roof
. The building is the oldest surviving clubhouse in Manhattan, and has been a New York City landmark since 1993. The exterior was restored and the interior converted in 1996-1997 by Beyer Blinder Belle
, and in recent years it has been the Century Center for the Performing Arts, which had a 248-seat theatre, a ballroom and a studio. As of 2006 it is the New York production facility for Trinity Broadcasting Network
, a religious television company.
at 7 West 43rd Street, which is also a New York City landmark, designated in 1967, as well as on the National Register of Historic Places
since 1982. McKim, Mead & White's design established a preferred style for private clubhouse buildings all over the United States in the following decades. The building was restored by Jan Hird Pokorny in 1992.
, that allows women to enter only in the company of men. ... As of March 1 [2011] the reciprocity agreement will end." London's Daily Telegraph interviewed a Garrick Club member who "would not be mourning the loss of his colonial cousins — or access to their facilities. 'The Century's a crap club anyway,' he said." Giving up infrequent visits to the Garrick "versus condoning the discrimination of women -- it seems like a pretty easy trade-off," a male Century member told the New York Observer."
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It evolved out of an earlier organization – the Sketch Club, founded in 1829 by editor and poet William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...
and his friends – and was established in 1847 by Bryant and others as a club to promote interest in the fine arts and literature which was open to "Artists, Literary Men, Scientists, Physicians, Officers of the Army and Navy, members of the Bench and Bar, Engineers, Clergymen, Representatives of the Press, Merchants and men of leisure." It was originally intended to have a limited membership of 100 men. Its early members included Bryant, painters Asher Durand, Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
, and John Frederick Kensett
John Frederick Kensett
John Frederick Kensett was an American artist and engraver. He attended school at Cheshire Academy, and studied engraving with his immigrant father, Thomas Kensett, and later with his uncle, Alfred Dagget...
, architect Stanford White
Stanford White
Stanford White was an American architect and partner in the architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, the frontrunner among Beaux-Arts firms. He designed a long series of houses for the rich and the very rich, and various public, institutional, and religious buildings, some of which can be found...
, judge Charles Patrick Daly
Charles Patrick Daly
Charles Patrick Daly was a member of the New York State Assembly, Chief Justice of the New York Court of Common Pleas, president of the American Geographical Society, and an author of several books.-Early years:...
, author Lewis Gaylord Clark
Lewis Gaylord Clark
Lewis Gaylord Clark was an American editor and the brother of Willis Gaylord Clark.-Biography:Clark was born in Otisco, New York in 1808. He succeeded Charles Fenno Hoffman as editor of the Knickerbocker Magazine, a role he held for over 25 years...
and architect Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux
Calvert Vaux , was an architect and landscape designer. He is best remembered as the co-designer , of New York's Central Park....
, the co-creator with Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
of Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
. However, by the middle 1850s, the membership primarily consisted of merchants, businessmen, lawyers and doctors.
The Century possesses a notable art collection, including important works by Asher Durand, Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole
Thomas Cole was an English-born American artist. He is regarded as the founder of the Hudson River School, an American art movement that flourished in the mid-19th century...
, Thomas Doughty
Thomas Doughty
Thomas Doughty may refer to:*Thomas Doughty , English explorer, d.1578*Thomas Doughty , American artist...
, and other Hudson River School
Hudson River school
The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism...
painters. It is also an important venue for the exhibition of contemporary art created by its members.
In 1989, after a strenuous legal battle, the club was compelled to start admitting women members.
15th Street clubhouse
The club's first permanent headquarters was located at 111 East 15th Street, between Union Square EastUnion Square
Union Square may refer to:Asia* Union Square * Union Square station on Dubai MetroCanada* Union Square, Nova ScotiaUnited States* Union Square, Baltimore, Maryland* Union Square * Union Square, San Francisco, California...
and Irving Place, and was built in 1869 as designed by Charles Gambrill and Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent American architect who designed buildings in Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and other cities. The style he popularized is named for him: Richardsonian Romanesque...
, both members of the club. The clubhouse was one of Richardson's early works, before he became one of the most influential architects in the United States, and he joined the team after Gambrill, who was later his partner, had already begun the design: Richardson added the mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
. The building is the oldest surviving clubhouse in Manhattan, and has been a New York City landmark since 1993. The exterior was restored and the interior converted in 1996-1997 by Beyer Blinder Belle
Beyer Blinder Belle
Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP is an international architecture firm. It is based in New York City and has an additional office in Washington, DC. The firm's name is derived from the three founding partners: John H. Beyer, Richard Blinder, and John Belle. The three architects met...
, and in recent years it has been the Century Center for the Performing Arts, which had a 248-seat theatre, a ballroom and a studio. As of 2006 it is the New York production facility for Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network is a major American Christian television network. TBN is based in Costa Mesa, California, with auxiliary studio facilities in Irving, Texas; Hendersonville, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; Decatur, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and New...
, a religious television company.
43rd Street clubhouse
The Century Association, which at the time had about 800 members, left 15th Street in 1891 for a McKim, Mead & White-designed Italian Renaissance-style palazzoPalazzo
Palazzo, an Italian word meaning a large building , may refer to:-Buildings:*Palazzo, an Italian type of building**Palazzo style architecture, imitative of Italian palazzi...
at 7 West 43rd Street, which is also a New York City landmark, designated in 1967, as well as on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
since 1982. McKim, Mead & White's design established a preferred style for private clubhouse buildings all over the United States in the following decades. The building was restored by Jan Hird Pokorny in 1992.
Controversy
In late 2010 members of the Century Association – which had only begun admitting female members in 1989, and then by court order – were embroiled in a hotly contested internal debate and "unusual vote of the entire membership" over whether it "should sever ties with a prestigious, all-male club in London, called the Garrick ClubGarrick Club
The Garrick Club is a gentlemen's club in London.-History:The Garrick Club was founded at a meeting in the Committee Room at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on Wednesday 17 August 1831...
, that allows women to enter only in the company of men. ... As of March 1 [2011] the reciprocity agreement will end." London's Daily Telegraph interviewed a Garrick Club member who "would not be mourning the loss of his colonial cousins — or access to their facilities. 'The Century's a crap club anyway,' he said." Giving up infrequent visits to the Garrick "versus condoning the discrimination of women -- it seems like a pretty easy trade-off," a male Century member told the New York Observer."