Saturn Club | |
Location | 977 Delaware Ave., Buffalo, New York |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°54′38″N78°52′13″W / 42.91056°N 78.87028°W |
Area | 1.7 acres (0.69 ha) |
Built | 1922 |
Architect | Bley & Lyman; Williams, Harry |
Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 05000444 [1] |
Added to NRHP | May 19, 2005 |
Saturn Club is a private social club, founded in 1885, in Buffalo in Erie County, New York that currently operates out of an National Register of Historic Places-listed building at 977 Delaware Ave. in Buffalo, New York.
In 1885, The Saturn Club was founded by thirteen young men who wanted to congregate in a less formal setting than their father's traditional clubs. [2] The first three founders were: Carlton Sprague, William F. Kip, and Francis Almy. They recruited the ten others including John B. Olmsted and Ansley Wilcox. [3] They first congregated on Saturdays, hence the name, to socialize and play cards. Dues were US$10(equivalent to about $339 in 2023) a month, and the initiation fee was a chair. With a nod to the many "University Clubs" of the time, Saturn's founders patterned their board of directors after that of a small college, including: [2]
Initially, the members met in a house owned by Sprague's grandfather but by 1886, the members decided to rent three rooms at the rear of a dwelling at 640 Main Street. In 1887, they moved to another rented house, a small Second Empire style home at 331 Delaware Avenue, before relocating to a larger, Italianate cottage at 393 Delaware Avenue, opposite the Buffalo Club.
In 1889, the club and its 150 members formally incorporated in Erie County and decided to construct their own building. By February, the directors had purchased a lot, 417 Delaware Avenue, at the southeast corner of Delaware Avenue and Edward Streets, not far from the Buffalo Club. On this site, they constructed a three-story brick building, designed by Herbert C Burdett of the Buffalo firm of Marling & Burdett. The building was dedicated on December 13, 1890. [3]
Beginning in the 1890s, the club added baseball games, lectures, costume balls, and vaudeville shows to the club's programming. A library was initiated and debates were held on the important issues of the time. These debates often included participation with other area clubs, including the Buffalo Club, the University Club, and the Garret Club. [4]
In 1900, then Gov. Theodore Roosevelt visited and had dinner at the club during his visit to Buffalo. [5]
In 1985, women were officially admitted as full members, however, in the immediate years preceding the change, women had full use of the club, through a relationship with the Garret Club, as well as through their spouses or other connections. [4]
In December 1920, only 30 years after the original buildings dedication, a new building committee suggested selling the existing clubhouse and erecting a new building elsewhere. Club member Duane Lyman, of Bley & Lyman, was asked to develop new plans for a clubhouse along with Ralph Plumb, a club member. The club purchased property at 977 Delaware Avenue and approved Lyman's plans for the present day Tudor style building, by February 1921. [3]
On October 21, 1921, the cornerstone of the new building was laid and exactly one year later, on October 21, 1922, the clubhouse was dedicated. The Tudor Revival structure featured an enclosed open courtyard. [6] By completion, the project ended up totaling US$500,000(equivalent to $9,101,392 in 2023). [3]
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. [1]
In 2002, the club underwent a $1 million (equivalent to $1,694,000in 2023) renovation that added two squash courts as well as general upgrades to its athletic facilities. The Saturn Club already had one international regulation doubles court and two singles courts. The new courts allow the club to host competitions. The other renovation work includes improvements to both the men's and women's locker rooms and the addition of exercise equipment. Hamilton Houston Lownie Architects, PC designed the additions and Integrated Realty & Development Corp. served as construction manager. [7]
In 2014, the interior was remodeled by Michael Donnelly Interiors and focused on two rooms: The Delaware Room and The Red Room. The Red Room features a fireplace and is accented by dark wood paneling along with a rich red covering. Panel draperies with 12-inch-wide, red fabric bands were added to frame the leaded windows. New furniture, chandelier covers and brown paisley carpeting with a red background were also added. The Delaware Room has a more clean look showcasing the oversized historic wall panels that depict seaside life. The fabrics are striped with blues and beiges that are intended to complement the murals. [8]
During the early years of Prohibition, Saturn had a bar and a bartender, but did not provide drinks. On advice from its lawyers, members could keep items, unquestioned, in private lockers and order all the ingredients for a drink, without spirits, to be passed into the club's rooms through a small sliding door. [9]
On August 29, 1923, Federal agents under William J. Donovan, who himself was a member of the club, raided both the Saturn Club and the Country Club of Buffalo. [10] Agents found at least sixty quarts of whisky, a similar amount of gin, five gallons of moonshine, bottles of champagne, vermouth, and other liquors inside the organization's lockers, according to court documents. The chair of the club's house committee told reporters the night of the raid that the liquor “evidently was smuggled in by bootlegging employees of the club.” [9]
A listing of those charged with dry law violations was published in the newspaper [10] After the names were published, the members and the club had little option but to agree to a settlement and do away with the sliding doors. [9]
Notable former members of Saturn Club include:
■ Indicates that the individual was named in the newspaper during the 1923 raid [11] [12]
Canisius High School is a Catholic, private college-preparatory school for young men run by the USA Northeast Province of the Society of Jesus in Buffalo, New York, United States, just north of the Delaware Avenue Historic District. Founded in 1870, the school has historical ties to Canisius College. Canisius operates independently from the New York State guidelines established by the Board of Regents. It has the largest high school student population among private schools in Western New York.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the Ansley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Here, after the assassination of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President of the United States on September 14, 1901. A New York historical marker outside the house indicates that it was the site of Theodore Roosevelt's Inauguration.
Forest Lawn Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Buffalo, New York, founded in 1849 by Charles E. Clarke. It covers over 269 acres (1.1 km2) and over 152,000 are buried there, including U.S. President Millard Fillmore, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, singer Rick James, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and inventors Lawrence Dale Bell and Willis Carrier. Forest Lawn is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Seymour Horace Knox I, was a businessman from Buffalo, New York, who made his fortune in five-and-dime stores. He merged his more than 100 stores with those of his first cousins, Frank Winfield Woolworth and Charles Sumner Woolworth, to form the F. W. Woolworth Company. He went on to hold prominent positions in the merged company as well as Marine Trust Co. He was the father of Seymour H. Knox II and grandfather of Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox, the co-founders of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League.
Ansley Wilcox was an American scholar, Oxford graduate, prominent lawyer, civil service reform commissioner, New York political insider and friend of Theodore Roosevelt. After the assassination of William McKinley, on September 14, 1901, Vice President Roosevelt was sworn in as 26th president of the United States in the library of Wilcox's home at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York.
The Grover Cleveland Golf Course is a historic golf course located in Buffalo, New York that hosted the 1912 U.S. Open that was founded as The Country Club of Buffalo. It is one of two courses owned by Erie County.
The first inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt as the 26th president of the United States, took place on Saturday, September 14, 1901, at the Ansley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York, following the death of President William McKinley earlier that day. The inauguration – the fifth non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to ever take place and the first in the 20th century – marked the commencement of the first term of Theodore Roosevelt as president. John R. Hazel, U.S. District Judge for the Western District of New York, administered the presidential oath of office.
Delaware Avenue Historic District is a national historic district located at Buffalo, New York, United States, and Erie County. It is located along the west side of Delaware Avenue between North Street to the South and Bryant Street to the North.
The Rainier Club is a private club in Seattle, Washington; it has been referred to as "Seattle's preeminent private club." Its clubhouse building, completed in 1904, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was founded in 1888 in what was then the Washington Territory. As of 2008, the club has 1,300 members.
Duane Lyman (1886–1966) was an architect based in Buffalo, New York, known for his prolific career which included 100 school buildings, many churches, and numerous large homes both in the city and suburban communities. At the time of his death, Lyman was referred to as the "dean of Western New York Architecture."
The Architecture of Buffalo, New York, particularly the buildings constructed between the American Civil War and the Great Depression, is said to have created a new, distinctly American form of architecture and to have influenced design throughout the world.
Frank St. John Sidway, was a Buffalo, New York lawyer and National Guard leader. He also served as chairman of the Erie County Republican Party, and was a candidate for lieutenant governor in 1914.
Anson Conger Goodyear was an American manufacturer, businessman, author, and philanthropist and member of the Goodyear family. He is best known as one of the founding members and first president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Charles Waterhouse Goodyear was an American lawyer, businessman, lumberman, and member of the prominent Goodyear family of New York. Based in Buffalo, New York, along with his brother, Frank, Charles was the founder and president of several companies, including the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad, Great Southern Lumber Company, Goodyear Lumber Company, Buffalo & Susquehanna Coal & Coke Company, and the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad Company.
John Joseph Albright was a businessman and philanthropist, and one of Buffalo's leading socialites at the turn of the 20th century.
George Cary, was a major American architect from New York State known for his designs for the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo, New York.
The Goodyear family is a prominent family from New York, whose members founded, owned and ran several businesses, including the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad, Great Southern Lumber Company, Goodyear Lumber Co., Buffalo & Susquehanna Coal and Coke Co., and the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad Company. Stephen Goodyear was a founder of the New Haven Colony, and served as Deputy governor from 1643 to 1658. Stephen's descendent, Charles Goodyear, invented vulcanized rubber; the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company is named after him. The family was also involved in the arts. Anson Goodyear was an organizer of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City; he served as its first president and a member of the board of trustees. William Henry Goodyear was the first curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Herbert Channing Burdett (1855–1891) was an American architect trained in the office of Henry Hobson Richardson who, in a brief career, established himself as a successful designer of Shingle Style and Richardsonian Romanesque buildings in western New York. With his partner James Herbert Marling (1857–1895), Burdett designed several public buildings in Buffalo, New York and a number of residential properties for the leading citizens of Buffalo, Woodstock, Ontario and Burlington, Vermont. Owing to his premature death, Burdett is little remembered today outside those areas where his known buildings still survive.
Frank Henry Goodyear was an American businessman, lumberman, and member of the prominent Goodyear family of New York. He was the founder and president of several companies, including the Buffalo and Susquehanna Railroad, Great Southern Lumber Company, Goodyear Lumber Co., Buffalo & Susquehanna Coal and Coke Co., and the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad Company.
Major Bradley Goodyear was an American lawyer, soldier, and member of the Goodyear family of New York.
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