Metropolitan Club (Washington, D.C.)

The Metropolitan Club is a private club in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1863, it is considered one of the country's most prestigious and exclusive clubs, along with the Knickerbocker Club and The Brook in New York, and the Somerset Club in Boston.

Metropolitan Club
Metropolitan Club in 2022
53-0109340
Headquarters1700 H St., NW
Location
Websitewww.metroclub.com
ArchitectHeins & LaFarge
NRHP reference No.95000441[1]

For its first century, the members of the club refused to accept non-white people as members. In 1961, 30 members quit in protest, including Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. In 1972, the club started accepting Black members.[2]

The club's members also refused to accept women until forced to do so in 1988, when the Supreme Court upheld a law forbidding gender-based bans at private clubs with more than 400 members.[3][4]

In 1883, the club moved into its own building at 1700 H Street NW. Designed by the architects W. Bruce Gray and Harvey L. Page, it was destroyed in a fire in 1904.[5]

The club's current home, designed by the architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge, was built from 1906 to 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.

The club's website declares: "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'."[7] It also says: "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."[8]

Relationship with other clubs
Metropolitan Club entrance

The Metropolitan Club has reciprocal agreements with:

Notable members

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. Gamarekian, Barbara (1983-09-10). "ENDURING BASTION OF EXCLUSIVITY FOR 'GENTLEMEN'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-05-27.
  3. Mccarthy, Aoife (2007-12-04). "Clubbing with the elite". Politico. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  4. Prasso, Sheri (25 June 1988). "Private Club Votes To Accept Women". Associated Press.
  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. "Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington - About The Club". metroclub.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  8. "Metropolitan Club of the City of Washington - Home". www.metroclub.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  9. "Cercle Royal du Parc Reciprocities".
  10. "Henry White". history.state.gov. United States Department of State History – Office of the Historian. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  11. "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.


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