Duquesne Club

The Duquesne Club
Formation1873 (151 years ago)
TypeCity club
Location
  • 325 Sixth Avenue
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Membership
≈2,700 (men and women)
General Manager
Scott Neill, CCM
Websitewww.duquesne.org
Designated1976[1]

The Duquesne Club is a private social club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded in 1873.

History

Duquesne Club Building, built in 1887

The Duquesne Club was founded in 1873. Its first president was John H. Ricketson.[2] The club's present home, a Romanesque structure designed by Longfellow, Alden & Harlow on Sixth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh, was opened in 1890; an addition designed by Janssen & Cocken that included a garden patio, barbershop, and new kitchens was constructed in 1931.[2] The building achieved landmark status from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation in 1976, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.[2]

The Club voted to admit women for the first time in its history in 1980.[2] A health-and-fitness center was added in 1994, and the club was ranked as #1 City Club in America in 1997, an honor that would be repeated in 2001, 2003, and 2006.[2][3]

Notable guests

Among notable guests to the club are U.S. Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford,[4] Ronald Reagan,[5][failed verification] George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton as well as Colin Powell, Polish leader Edward Gierek,[6] Jungle James, Tars Cornish, Gene Simmons, King Charles III (while he was Prince of Wales) and former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.[7] Oil businessman and millionaire Philip M. Shannon owned an apartment in the club and died there in 1915.[8]

Membership

As of 2007, membership at the Duquesne Club consisted of about 2,700 men and women.[9] Though the Club does not discriminate in its selection of members, membership is by invitation from an existing member only.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Historic Landmark Plaques 1968-2009 (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Historical timeline". The Duquesne Club. 2004. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  3. ^ "The Duquesne Club". 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2010.
  4. ^ "Observer-Reporter - Google News Archive Search".
  5. ^ Toledo Blade – Google News Archive Search
  6. ^ "Gierek Shows Expertise with Questions Here". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 12 October 1974. p. 3 – via Google News Archive.
  7. ^ Action News' Sally Wiggin Goes Inside Duquesne Club's Kitchen - YouTube
  8. ^ "Pioneer Oil Man Stricken In Club". The Pittsburgh Post. 23 November 1915. p. 12. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b "Membership". The Duquesne Club. 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2010.

40°26′31″N 79°59′55″W / 40.441933°N 79.998592°W / 40.441933; -79.998592