The Yale Club of New York City facts for kids
 |
|
| Established | 1897 |
|---|---|
| Type | Private club for Yale alumni and faculty |
| Location | |
The Yale Club of New York City, often just called The Yale Club, is a private club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was created especially for people who have graduated from or teach at Yale University.
The club has more than 11,000 members from all over the world. Its 22-story building opened in 1915 and is the largest clubhouse for a college ever built.
Contents
A Look Inside the Clubhouse
The club's building is located at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue, right across from the famous Grand Central Terminal. This area is known for having many university clubs. For example, clubs for Harvard, Cornell, and Princeton are all nearby. The Yale Club building is so important that it is a New York City-designated landmark.
The building is huge and has many amazing features. Inside, you can find:
- Three different places to eat
- Four bars
- Rooms for parties and events, including a Grand Ballroom on the 20th floor
- 138 guest rooms, like a hotel
- A library for reading and relaxing
- A fitness center with three squash courts and a swimming pool
- A barber shop
The heart of the club is the main lounge. It's a very large room with a high, decorated ceiling. The walls are lined with fireplaces and portraits of five U.S. presidents who went to Yale: William Howard Taft, Gerald R. Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. There is also a portrait of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The Club's Long History
How It All Started
The Yale Club was founded in 1897. A group of Yale graduates in New York wanted a permanent place to meet. The club's first home was a rented building. In 1901, they built their own 12-story clubhouse on West 44th Street. Today, that building is home to the Penn Club of New York.
The current, much larger clubhouse on Vanderbilt Avenue opened in 1915. It was designed by architect and Yale graduate James Gamble Rogers. The location was chosen because some believed it was where Nathan Hale, a Yale graduate and American spy, was executed during the American Revolution. However, historians now debate the exact spot of Hale's execution.
Changes in the 21st Century
In 1999, the Yale Club was the first of the major university clubs in New York to relax its dress code to "business casual." This was a big change at the time. Today, the dress code is still business casual, and in some areas, members are even allowed to wear nice, clean denim jeans.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the Heisman Trophy ceremony, which honors the best player in college football, was held at the Yale Club in 2002 and 2003. The trophy was displayed in the club's lobby, next to portraits of Yale's two Heisman winners, Larry Kelley (1936) and Clint Frank (1937).
In 2007, a former government official named Robert Bork sued the club. He said that he fell and was injured at an event because there were no steps to a raised platform. The case was settled privately between Bork and the club the next year.
Who Can Join the Club?
To become a member, a person must be a graduate, a professor, or a full-time graduate student at Yale University. Children of members can also join.
For a long time, Yale University only accepted male students, and the club did the same. When Yale began accepting women in 1969, the club also opened its membership to women. At first, women were not allowed in all parts of the club. But by 1987, all areas, including the swimming pool, were open to everyone. Today, many of the club's members are women.
The Yale Club building is also home to members of three other clubs: the Dartmouth Club, the Virginia Club, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon Club. These members can use the clubhouse just like Yale Club members.
Many famous people have been members of the club, including former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, and author David McCullough.
See also
- Columbia University Club of New York
- Cornell Club of New York
- Harvard Club of Boston
- Harvard Club of New York City
- Penn Club of New York City
- Princeton Club of New York
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
