Metropolitan Club (San Francisco)

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Coordinates: 37°47′20″N 122°24′40″W / 37.78889°N 122.41111°W / 37.78889; -122.41111
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the women's club in San Francisco. For other uses, see Metropolitan Club.
Metropolitan Club
Location
Coordinates37°47′20″N 122°24′40″W / 37.78889°N 122.41111°W / 37.78889; -122.41111
Region served
San Francisco Bay Area
Membership (2023)
850
Revenue (2023)
US $3.9 million
Staff (2023)
48
Websitewww.metropolitanclubsf.org
Formerly called
Woman's Athletic Club of San Francisco
Woman's Athletic Club of San Francisco
Italian Renaissance Revival
NRHP reference No.04000955[1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 10, 2004
[2]

The Metropolitan Club is a

San Francisco, California. Their clubhouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Woman's Athletic Club of San Francisco.[1]

History

In 1915, a group of local women established the Woman's Athletic Club of San Francisco to promote physical fitness and camaraderie among women and modeled it after the Woman's Athletic Club of Chicago.[1] It was the first women's athletic club west of the Mississippi.[3]

The clubhouse was built in phases in 1917 and 1923.[4] The site was selected in the Union Square neighborhood three blocks south of the Pacific-Union gentlemen's club.

In 1938, the club opened the Kakemono Lounge, a cocktail lounge decorated with Japanese influences. In 1941 during World War II, the club extended dining privileges to women working in the

Red Cross Motor Corps. In 1945, the club hosted wives of delegates during the establishment of the United Nations. In 1953, the club converted the lounge into a library.[4]

In 1966, the membership voted to change their name to the "Metropolitan Club" to reflect their broader mission beyond just athletics.[4] In the 1980s, the club discussed but ultimately declined merging with the nearby Olympic Club, a then all-male athletic organization.[5]

In 2004, while other women's club had declining membership in San Francisco, the Metropolitan was the largest partly through offering members incentives to recruit.[6] The club is a popular rental venue for wedding receptions and other events.

Architecture

Detail of the arched entryway

The architectural partnership of

palazzos of Florence.[4] The six-story building has a U-layout and is between a surface parking lot owned by the club and a former YWCA building owned by the Academy of Art University
.

The front of the building uses materials of contrasting colors consisting of

corbelled balconies in front of each window. The fourth floor has a pair of terra cotta escutcheons with the original WAC logo. The fifth and sixth floors have a two-story colonnade in front of a loggia. The other three sides of the building are relatively plain.[4]

The interior includes a formal lobby with an

pilasters supporting beams treated as an entablature. The swimming pool is dug into the basement based on structural considerations. The public dining room is on the fourth floor with a private dining room, known as the Tapestry Room. The building also contains a gym, locker rooms, spa, salon, offices, kitchens, conference rooms, and hotel rooms available to guests of members.[4]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Woman's Athletic Club (San Francisco).

References

  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System – Woman's Athletic Club of San Francisco (#04000955)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "General Manager Profile, The Metropolitan Club, San Francisco, CA" (PDF). Club Management Association of America - Georgia Chapter. Kopplin, Kuebler & Wallace. January 24, 2023. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  3. SFist
    . Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  4. ^
    National Archives
    . Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  5. ^ Lara, Adair (July 18, 2004). "S.F.'s exclusive clubs carry on traditions of fellowship, culture--and discrimination". SFGate. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  6. ^ Bowles, Nellie (July 23, 2004). "S.F. women's clubs aging, rolls declining". SFGate. Retrieved April 16, 2024.

External links

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