 | |
| Formation | 5 May 1891 |
|---|---|
| Type | Private members' club |
| Headquarters | 710 13 Avenue SW |
| Location | |
| Website | ranchmensclub.com |
The Ranchmen's Club is a private social club in Calgary, Alberta. The club was founded in 1891 as a gentlemen's club and is the oldest continuing club in the city today. [1] The club allowed women members starting in 1993. [2] The Ranchmen's Club is often called the most prestigious private social club in Calgary. [3] [4]
The club originally began when a group of prominent southern Alberta ranchers gathered in the Lougheed Block and Mariaggi’s Restaurant to form a social club in the style of an English gentlemen’s club. [5] The Club’s first history book said of its founding that "The Ranchmen’s Club was formed then by gentlemen to whom the British Club was an integral and unique way of life." [6] The Club originally consisted of only 46 members. [3]
The modern clubhouse (designed by Calgarian architect R.E. McDonnell), which they still occupy today, was not constructed until 1914. [1] The clubhouse was built in a Renaissance Revival style and is noted for the "extensive use of terra cotta detailing". [7] [4] The clubhouse underwent renovations in both 1925 and 1982. [4]
The Ranchmen’s Club has hosted multiple famous dinners, including one in honour of Edward VIII (then Edward, Prince of Wales), who had purchased the E.P. Ranch in southern Alberta. [4] Similarly, two dinners were held for Viscount Bennett. One upon his winning the leadership of the Conservative Party, and another shortly before he left Canada to take his seat in the House of Lords in the United Kingdom. [6]