The Owl Club was founded at Harvard University on March 20, 1896 as the secret society Alpha Epsilon, Greek for Pipe and Mug.[1] Its founders were Dudley Hall Bradlee Jr., Frazier Curtis, Malcolm Scollay Greenough Jr., Reginald Mansfield Johnson, Charles Clifford Payson, Preston Player, and Austen Fox Riggs.[1] In 1897, the group changed its name to Phi Delta Psi Club and was no longer a secret society.[1]
The club held meetings in Cambridge's Polo Club Alley before purchasing land to build a clubhouse on the corner of Holyoke Street and Holyoke Place in 1901.[1] The house was first occupied in 1905.
In 1916, Phi Delta Psi Club voted to change its name to Owl Club.[1]
The club become known as The Owl as an abbreviation of its Greek name, Ἀυλὸς χαὶ Ἔκπωμα.
The club's tie is black with green owls and is worn to weekly dinners and formal events.[1]
Owl Club house
Clubhouse
In 1905, architect James Purdon of Purdon & Little drew desgined the Georgian revival style clubhouse.[1] On June 24, 1905, its cornerstone was laid. The new building was formally opened on March 24, 1906, the tenth anniversary of the Club.[1] This house at 30 Holyoke Street is the current clubhouse.
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