Stock Exchange Luncheon Club
Encyclopedia
The Stock Exchange Luncheon Club was a members-only dining club
on the seventh floor of the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) at 11 Wall Street
, Manhattan
. Founded at 70 Broadway on August 3, 1898, the club moved to 11 Wall Street in 1903. It closed on April 28, 2006, after more than a century.
The club had an inaugural membership of 200, with a "long waiting list", when it first opened as the Luncheon Club at 70 Broadway and 15 New Street, Manhattan.
Joseph L. Searles III
, who became the first African American
member of the NYSE when he joined in 1970, said that his "biggest fear...was where would I sit in the luncheon club?". The situation was resolved when Searles was given his own table by the club, and he dined alone for a while.
A ladies restroom was installed in the club as late as 1987, some twenty years after women were first admitted to the NYSE.
In 1999, the club had more than 1,400 members, and was lavishly decorated with various animal heads, most shot by members on safari
. Following security measures put in place at the NYSE, after the September 11 attacks, the club became less accessible, and this, coupled with the ousting of regular patron Richard Grasso
from the head of the NYSE, and a decline in similar local dining clubs, was cited as a factor in the club's demise, when it closed in 2006.
The club was profiled by P. J. O'Rourke
in his 1999 book, Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics.
Dining club
A dining club is a social group, usually requiring membership , which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers...
on the seventh floor of the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
(NYSE) at 11 Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Founded at 70 Broadway on August 3, 1898, the club moved to 11 Wall Street in 1903. It closed on April 28, 2006, after more than a century.
The club had an inaugural membership of 200, with a "long waiting list", when it first opened as the Luncheon Club at 70 Broadway and 15 New Street, Manhattan.
Joseph L. Searles III
Joseph L. Searles III
On February 13, 1970, Joseph L. Searles III became the first black floor member and floor broker in the New York Stock ExchangeHe was a member of the Stock Exchange Luncheon Club....
, who became the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
member of the NYSE when he joined in 1970, said that his "biggest fear...was where would I sit in the luncheon club?". The situation was resolved when Searles was given his own table by the club, and he dined alone for a while.
A ladies restroom was installed in the club as late as 1987, some twenty years after women were first admitted to the NYSE.
In 1999, the club had more than 1,400 members, and was lavishly decorated with various animal heads, most shot by members on safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
. Following security measures put in place at the NYSE, after the September 11 attacks, the club became less accessible, and this, coupled with the ousting of regular patron Richard Grasso
Richard Grasso
Richard A. "Dick" Grasso was chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange from 1995 to 2003, the culmination of a career that began in 1968 when Grasso was hired by the Exchange as a floor clerk...
from the head of the NYSE, and a decline in similar local dining clubs, was cited as a factor in the club's demise, when it closed in 2006.
The club was profiled by P. J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'Rourke
Patrick Jake "P. J." O'Rourke is an American political satirist, journalist, writer, and author. O'Rourke is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on...
in his 1999 book, Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics.