Metropolitan Club (Washington, D.C.)

The Metropolitan Club is a private club in Washington D.C. founded in 1863. It is known for being one of the most prestigious and exclusive clubs in the nation, together with the Knickerbocker Club in New York and the Somerset Club in Boston.

Metropolitan Club
Location1700 H St., NW
Washington, D.C.
ArchitectHeins & LaFarge
NRHP reference No.95000441[1]

Relationship with other clubs

The Metropolitan Club has reciprocal agreements with:

Notable Members

History

The club was established in 1863. It eventually moved into its own building located at 1700 H Street NW in 1883. That building, designed by the architects Gray and Page, was destroyed in a fire in 1904.[5]

The architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge was responsible for the design of the current building. Construction of it was started in 1906 and completed in 1908.[6] It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1964 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Metropolitan Club membership was men-only until 1988, when the club's governing board voted to accept women members following a Supreme Court ruling upholding a New York law mandating women membership at private clubs with more than 400 members.[7][8]

"The Metropolitan Club is one of Washington's oldest and most valued private institutions. Since its founding in 1863, at the height of the Civil War, by six Treasury Department officials, it has pursued its primary goal of furthering "literary, mutual improvement, and social purposes." Today, nearly 150 years after its founding, the Club continues to attract distinguished members from around the world.

The Metropolitan Club's proximity to the White House and other icons of the nation's capital has made it a destination for many local, national and international leaders, including nearly every U.S. President since Abraham Lincoln. Its location and dedication to a tradition of social civility provide members with a haven from the bustle of Washington's professional life, while offering amenities associated with contemporary urban living." [9]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Cercle Royal du Parc Reciprocities".
  3. "Henry White". history.state.gov. United States Department of State History - Office of the Historian. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  4. "HENRY WHITE WEDS MRS. WM.D. SLOANE; Ex-Ambassador to France Is 70 and Daughter of Late Wm. H. Vanderbilt Is 68. RELATIVES ONLY AT NUPTIAL Ceremony in St. Bartholomew's Chapel Follows Issuing of License --Couple at Bride's City Home". The New York Times. 4 November 1920. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  5. Eve Lydia Barsoum (12 March 1995). Metropolitan Club Historic Landmark Application (PDF) (Report). National Park Service. p. 7. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  6. "District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites". DC Preservation. Archived from the original on 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  7. Mccarthy, Aoife. "Clubbing with the elite". POLITICO. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  8. Prasso, Sheri (25 June 1988). "Private Club Votes To Accept Women". Associated Press.
  9. "The Metropolitan Club". Retrieved 31 August 2012.


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