The Commonwealth Club
Encyclopedia
This article concerns the historic Virginia building. For other places called "Commonwealth Club", see Commonwealth Club
.
The Commonwealth Club, is a private gentlemen's club
in Richmond
, Virginia
, USA
. Its present clubhouse was completed in 1891. The defining structure of the Commonwealth Club Historic District, it is located at 401 West Franklin Street. The Commonwealth Club is considered to be one of the finest pieces of architecture in Richmond and was a physical symbol of Richmond's New South
movement.
was chosen from a group of four firms.
The Commonwealth Club is a unique structure among Richmond buildings. Characterized by its deep red brick, brownstone trim and terra cotta cartouches, the building is a combination of Colonial revival
and Richardsonian Romanesque
styles. The Colonial revival tradition is reflected to promote a heritage for the future and the Richardsonian style reflected the ability of Richmonders to afford an architectural style fashionable on a national level. It is classified by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources as Italian Renaissance Revival.
Commonwealth Club
The Commonwealth Club may refer to:* Commonwealth Club, a private members' club of the Royal Commonwealth Society* Commonwealth Club of California, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, America's oldest public affairs forum, broadcast on some National Public Radio stations* Commonwealth Club , a...
.
The Commonwealth Club, is a private gentlemen's club
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 Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its present clubhouse was completed in 1891. The defining structure of the Commonwealth Club Historic District, it is located at 401 West Franklin Street. The Commonwealth Club is considered to be one of the finest pieces of architecture in Richmond and was a physical symbol of Richmond's New South
New South
New South, New South Democracy or New South Creed is a phrase that has been used intermittently since the American Civil War to describe the American South, after 1877. The term "New South" is used in contrast to the Old South of the plantation system of the antebellum period.The term has been used...
movement.
Architecture
After an unsuccessful attempt to acquire plans from local firms, the Board of the Commonwealth Club looked outside of Richmond to develop a style that reflected the momentum of a more national architectural movement. The site proposed for the building, formerly the Palmer House, was located high above the street level. While the board desired a style broadly fashionable, they also desired the building to reflect Richmond as a southern city. The New York City based firm of Carrère and HastingsCarrère and Hastings
Carrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings , located in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architecture firms in the United States. The partnership operated from 1885 until 1911, when Carrère was killed in an automobile accident...
was chosen from a group of four firms.
The Commonwealth Club is a unique structure among Richmond buildings. Characterized by its deep red brick, brownstone trim and terra cotta cartouches, the building is a combination of Colonial revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
and Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
styles. The Colonial revival tradition is reflected to promote a heritage for the future and the Richardsonian style reflected the ability of Richmonders to afford an architectural style fashionable on a national level. It is classified by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources as Italian Renaissance Revival.