University Club of Chicago
Encyclopedia
The University Club of Chicago is a private social club
located at 76 East Monroe Street at the corner of Michigan Avenue
in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It received its charter in 1887, when a group of college friends, principally alumni of Harvard, Yale
, and Princeton
, founded the club hoping to further their collegial ties and enjoy intellectual pursuits.
(1900) and Winston Spencer Churchill
(1901).
The club's present building, begun in 1907 and completed in 1909, is a historic landmark designed by renowned architect Martin Roche
. It is arguably the first and foremost "gothic skyscraper". At a cost of over $1,100,000, it was one of the most important club buildings of its day and continues to be an architecturally significant structure.
The club's centerpiece, Cathedral Hall, was designed by Martin Roche
, based on Crosby Hall in London. The Hall is adorned with stained glass windows (by artist Frederic C. Bartlett) and seals representing distinguished universities in the United States and Europe. "There are other historically great interiors in town: Auditorium Theater of Adler & Sullivan and Mies van der Rohe's Crown Hall are only two of the first to come to mind. But among places where people convene to enjoy good food and companionship, I can think of no single room in this wonderfully composed and constructed city that is more stunning, that clears the sinuses more speedily or whips the viewer more persuasively into social attention than Martin Roche's Cathedral Hall."
Other facilities include: private dining rooms, restaurants, international squash
courts, bath department and pool, fitness facilities, library, business centre, outdoor terrace, art gallery, overnight accommodations all available to members and their guests. The club has played a key role in the development of squash
in Chicago
and the U.S., including hosting the annual Windy City Open each year.
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...
located at 76 East Monroe Street at the corner of Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It received its charter in 1887, when a group of college friends, principally alumni of Harvard, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, and Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, founded the club hoping to further their collegial ties and enjoy intellectual pursuits.
History
Though officially chartered in 1887 by university graduates for "the promotion of literature and art, by establishing and maintaining a library, reading room and gallery of art, and by such other means as shall be expedient and proper for such purposes", the University Club of Chicago's history begins in 1885 when a group of Harvard men formed an association of college alumni in a similar fashion to the University Club of New York. The primary requirement of admission remains a college or university degree.Building
The club's first home was on the third and fourth floors of the Henning & Speed Building at 22 West Madison Street. The second club home was a stand-alone building at 30 North Dearborn. The first committee on literature and art was established in 1895, the library in 1897 with 1000 volumes. Honored guests included Admiral George DeweyGeorge Dewey
George Dewey was an admiral of the United States Navy. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War...
(1900) and Winston Spencer Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
(1901).
The club's present building, begun in 1907 and completed in 1909, is a historic landmark designed by renowned architect Martin Roche
Martin Roche
Martin Roche was an American architect.In partnership with William Holabird, Martin Roche designed buildings following the Chicago School and that were landmarks in the development of early sky scrapers. He worked for William Le Baron Jenney until 1881 when he joined William Holabird at Holabird &...
. It is arguably the first and foremost "gothic skyscraper". At a cost of over $1,100,000, it was one of the most important club buildings of its day and continues to be an architecturally significant structure.
The club's centerpiece, Cathedral Hall, was designed by Martin Roche
Martin Roche
Martin Roche was an American architect.In partnership with William Holabird, Martin Roche designed buildings following the Chicago School and that were landmarks in the development of early sky scrapers. He worked for William Le Baron Jenney until 1881 when he joined William Holabird at Holabird &...
, based on Crosby Hall in London. The Hall is adorned with stained glass windows (by artist Frederic C. Bartlett) and seals representing distinguished universities in the United States and Europe. "There are other historically great interiors in town: Auditorium Theater of Adler & Sullivan and Mies van der Rohe's Crown Hall are only two of the first to come to mind. But among places where people convene to enjoy good food and companionship, I can think of no single room in this wonderfully composed and constructed city that is more stunning, that clears the sinuses more speedily or whips the viewer more persuasively into social attention than Martin Roche's Cathedral Hall."
Other facilities include: private dining rooms, restaurants, international squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
courts, bath department and pool, fitness facilities, library, business centre, outdoor terrace, art gallery, overnight accommodations all available to members and their guests. The club has played a key role in the development of squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and the U.S., including hosting the annual Windy City Open each year.