Clubhouses of
New York Yacht Club
On July 15, 1845, the New York Yacht Club opened its first clubhouse – one year after its founding. It was a one-room Gothic Revival building designed by noted architect A. J. Davis, on land owned by Commodore John Cox Stevens in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over the next half century, the Club would occupy four additional clubhouses: two in Manhattan and two on Staten Island. The Club also maintained at one time nearly a dozen stations, small buildings and landings where members and friends could rendezvous, send a letter or make a telephone call.
44th St. Clubhouse
from "The Clubhouse at Sea"
by John Rousmaniere
The New York Yacht Club established a set of objectives for the new clubhouse and sent it to more than a dozen architects with invitations to compete for the commission. Leading the list of stated goals was a suitable Model Room: "This is the principal room, and it is to be used for the regular meetings of the Club, and also on more public occasions.
It should be large and high, capable of containing 300 people, and containing approximately 3,800 square feet. Upon the walls space must be provided for exhibiting the models now in the club's possession, with ample space for future additions, and they must be set not so much above the eye but that can be easily examined and studied." Next in importance was a library to house as many as 15,000 books, then a chart room where captains could plan their summer cruises.
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Harbour Court
On Friday, June 10, 1988, 1,500 New York Yacht Club members and guests attended the first commissioning of Harbour Court, the club's first permanent waterfront facility. Standing on eight acres overlooking Brenton's Cove, the Renaissance Norman-style mansion was completed in 1906 for the John Nicholas Brown family. John Nicholas Brown was commodore of the NYYC from 1952-54.
The natural alliance between the New York Yacht Club and Newport, Rhode Island began three days after the club's founding on Friday, August 2, 1844, when a fleet of the founders' eight yachts got underway from the Battery bound for Newport on the first summer Cruise. Many summer Cruises – known as the Annual Cruise -- included a stop in Newport. Then beginning in 1930 the NYYC conducted the America's Cup in Newport -- first in J-Class yachts and then 12 Metres -- until losing it in 1983.
Clubhouses and Stations of
the New York Yacht Club
On July 15, 1845, the New York Yacht Club opened its first clubhouse – one year after its founding. It was a one-room Gothic Revival building designed by noted architect A. J. Davis, on land owned by Commodore John Cox Stevens in Hoboken, New Jersey -- across from Manhattan. Over the next half century, the Club would occupy four additional clubhouses: two in Manhattan and two on Staten Island. The Club also maintained at one time nearly a dozen stations, small buildings and landings where members and friends could rendezvous, send a letter or make a telephone call.
By the late 1890s, with the membership over one thousand, the Club required more space. Property on 44th Street in Manhattan was donated to the Club by Commodore J. Pierpont Morgan, and a competition was held for the design of the building. The result was a clubhouse designed by Whitney Warren in the popular Beaux-Arts style that was awash with the iconography of the sea. The new clubhouse epitomized the goal of the NYYC: to share and foster an interest in yachting and yacht racing.
Station 10, or the NYYC's first Clubhouse in Hoboken, N.J., which opened in 1845
The first Staten Island Clubhouse; the NYYC moved there in 1868
The NYYC rented rooms at the Leonard Jerome House in Manhattan, sharing space with other clubs including the Jockey Club
The second Clubhouse on Staten Island, this one in Stapleton
The Madison Ave. Clubhouse
The bar in the Madison Ave. Clubhouse
The Library in the Madison Ave. Clubhouse
NYYC Commodore J. Pierpont Morgan donated three lots on West 44th Street for a new Clubhouse, which opened in 1901
The signature Clubhouse on 44th Street in New York
Station 4 in New London, Conn. At one point, the NYYC had 11 stations
Harbour Court in Newport -- the NYYC's on-the-water Clubhouse. Dan Nerney photo
Station 10 has taken its place of honor at Harbour Court. Dan Nerney photo
The Club's headquarters is still on 44th Street in New York City in midtown Manhattan. It is a six-story brick building with stone facing built in 1899-1900 for the club. The building houses the social, library, archives and administrative functions of the club. The street side of the building is regarded as one of the most expressive examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in the country.
It draws on a number of classic motifs, but its hallmark is the elaborate bay windows set into sculpted framework depicting the sterns of fancifully carved baroque sailing vessels, with garlands of seaweed and shells hanging from wave-like consoles and dolphins spewing into the overhanging wakes of the departing ships. The exterior of the 44th Street building was designated as a landmark by the City of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission on September 11, 1979.
The street side of the building is regarded as one of the most expressive examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in the country. It draws on a number of classic motifs, but its hallmark is the elaborate bay windows set into sculpted framework depicting the sterns of fancifully carved baroque sailing vessels, with garlands of seaweed and shells hanging from wave-like consoles and dolphins spewing into the overhanging wakes of the departing ships.
The exterior of the 44th Street building was designated as a landmark by the City of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission on September 11, 1979.
