The Union Club of Boston, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest gentlemen's clubs in the United States. It is located on Beacon Hill, adjacent to the Massachusetts State House. The clubhouse at No. 7 and No. 8 Park Street was originally the homes of John Amory Lowell (#7), and Abbott Lawrence (#8).[1] The houses were built c.1830-40, and they were remodeled for club use in 1896.[2] The clubhouse overlooks the Boston Common, and has views of the Common itself, Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, and the hills to the west of the city.
The Union Club was formed by members of another prominent Boston gentlemen's club, the Somerset Club, after disagreement over whether to support the Union cause during the American Civil War, about which the members of the club split along political lines. In response, defectors formed the Union Club, which demanded "unqualified loyalty to the constitution and the Union of our United States, and unwavering support of the Federal Government in effort for the suppression of the rebellion."[citation needed] The founders of the club did not restrict membership to those of a single political party, but accepted all those willing to support the Union Cause in the Civil War.
The club later became the first male club in the city to welcome women as members. A few months later, in 1983, the club welcomed its first Black member.[3]
- ^ Union Club of Boston website
- ^ Southworth, Susan & Southworth, Michael (2008). AIA Guide to Boston (3rd ed.). Guilford, Connecticut: Globe Pequot Press. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-7627-4337-7.
- ^ James Cofield, the first Black member