New York Yacht Club Building

The New York Yacht Club Building is a seven-story

The NYYC was founded in 1844 and was known for holding the America's Cup yachting trophy for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. By the 1890s, overcrowding at the club's previous headquarters prompted the NYYC to consider developing a new clubhouse. J. P. Morgan bought land for the new clubhouse on 44th Street in October 1898, and Warren & Wetmore won an architectural design competition for the building that December. The clubhouse formally opened on January 19, 1901, and has hosted the club's annual meetings and events since then. The clubhouse remained mostly unchanged during the 20th century, although some rooms were converted to different uses. The NYYC renovated the interior in the 1980s and restored the facade in 1992. The interior was renovated again for the clubhouse's centennial in 2001.

Site

The New York Yacht Club Building is on 37 West 44th Street, on the north sidewalk between

The adjacent block of 44th Street is known as Club Row and contains several clubhouses.[9] When the New York Yacht Club Building was developed at the end of the 19th century, several other clubhouses were being built in the area.^[10] By the early 1900s, these other clubs included the Harvard Club, Yale Club, New York City Bar Association, Century Association,^[11][12] and the City Club of New York,^[13] all of which remained in the area at the end of the 20th century.^[14] Prior to the development of the Yacht Club Building, the neighborhood contained a slaughterhouse, stables for stagecoach horses, and a train yard for the elevated Sixth Avenue Line.^[15] There had been many stagecoach stables on 43rd and 44th Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues,^[16] but only a few of these buildings remained by the end of the 20th century.^[15][16]

Architecture

The architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore designed the New York Yacht Club Building, which was completed in 1901.^[5] The club was known for the America's Cup yachting trophy, which it held from 1857 to 1983.^[17] The building is designed in a Beaux-Arts style, though characterized by contemporary newspapers as being "modern Renaissance of the French school".^[18][19] The clubhouse was the first of many buildings that the firm designed in New York City;^[20][21] the firm later designed such structures as Grand Central Terminal and the New York Central Building.^[22][23] Whitney Warren, one of the partners at Warren & Wetmore, wrote of his firm's design: "We consider that externally and internally the arrangements should be such as to place the subject in evidence, and not to retire it and make the clubhouse appear as that of merely a social club."^[24][25] As such, it was elaborately decorated with marine and nautical motifs.^[24][26]

Facade

The building is seven stories tall; the uppermost stories are within a

The easternmost bay projects slightly from the rest of the facade and is flanked by triple-height

Warren & Wetmore manufactured oak furniture and ornamental lighting fixtures for the New York Yacht Club Building. The interior was mostly upholstered in dark green leather.[33] As with the facade, many of the decorations contain a maritime theme.^[40] The walls also contain maritime artwork from painters such as James E. Buttersworth.^[29] Most of the rooms were placed on different levels.^[41]

Lower stories

Immediately inside the main entrance, a short staircase ascends to a double-height entrance hall.^[42] This space contains Caen stone walls and a marble staircase in the center, leading to the model room on the second floor.^[25][43] Originally, the clerk's office was to the right (east) of the hall, while the visitors' room, coatroom, letterboxes, and telephones were to the left.^[33] The visitors' room was decorated with photographs of large yachts.^[38] All non-members were originally directed to the visitors' room, where they waited for a member to accompany them upstairs;^[40] this space was later converted into a reception desk.^[43] The coatroom was at the bottom of the grand staircase.^[18][19] On the opposite side of the entrance hall was a stair leading to the club's cafe.^[33][42]

On the left side of the entrance hall, next to the coatroom and behind the visitors' room, a narrow staircase descended a half-story to a grill room and

At the rear of the grill room were glass doors,

The mechanical equipment and the culinary staff were placed in the basement.[33] From the entrance hall, a passageway led to the kitchen, pantries, engine and boiler rooms, and cellars.^[25] The pantries originally had iceboxes lined with oak, although the iceboxes have been since changed into refrigerators.^[49]

Model room

The model room on the second story is a double-height space, which from the outset was intended as the clubhouse's most important room.^[29] Sources disagree on the exact dimensions,^[a] but the room measures approximately 45 feet (14 m) wide and 100 feet (30 m) deep.^[46][33] The space is illuminated by the large windows on 44th Street.^[25][41] It is decorated in gold, green, and maroon.^[47] The room houses the NYYC's collection of ship models; in 2001, there were 150 full models and about 1,200 half-models.^[29][30] According to Town & Country, "some of the models are as expensive as some yachts".^[51] Some models are of America's Cup challengers and defenders.^[43][50] Other models depict ships that participated in regattas sponsored by the NYYC; before 1951, all regatta participants had to donate at least a half-model of their ships, and many owners chose to donate full models.^[43] Models were placed in chronological order based on when the ships were commissioned.^[52][53] The full models were displayed in glass cases at the center of the room, while the half-models were displayed along the walls.^[43][53]

The model room also contained awards and trophies,^[54] as well as other artifacts from club members.^[42] The artifacts include the tiller of the yacht America (namesake of the America's Cup), a NYYC burgee that Henry Morton Stanley carried during one of his expeditions to Africa, and a model boat carved out of bones.^[29] There was also an alcove known as the Palm Court,^[55] where the America's Cup trophy was displayed from the building's opening until 1983.^[36] The trophy was placed in a glass case atop a wooden table;^[56][57] the NYYC had installed a custom bolt in 1972 to secure the cup to the table.^[58]

The model room's floor is covered by a 64-by-19-foot (19.5 by 5.8 m) Indian rug, which was installed in 2000.^[37] The eastern wall of the model room contains four pairs of French doors, which lead to the grand staircase and the stair hall's balconies.^[43] The western wall, directly opposite the main stairway contains a fireplace and mantel made of Caen stone.^[25][43] This fireplace measures about 15 feet (5 m) wide and 25 feet (8 m) tall.^[33][48] Weighing over 40 short tons (36 long tons; 36 t)^[42][59] or 45 short tons (40 long tons; 41 t),^[41] the fireplace was so heavy that several brick piers had to be installed to support its weight.^[48] There is a sculpted panel above the center of the fireplace.^[33] The north, west, and east walls originally had dark oak paneling, above which was green burlap.^[25][47] There were benches next to the walls.^[38] On the south wall, there are niches next to each bay window, which contain green seats.^[33][47] At the center of the model room was a circular oak table measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) across.^[42]

There is a balcony at the third story, wrapping around the north, west, and east sides of the room.^[43][59] The balcony rests atop carved brackets^[38] and contains a balustrade with galleon motifs.^[37] The ceiling above the balcony is supported by oak columns, which are topped by capitals with shell and wave motifs.^[33] The balcony is interrupted by the oversized fireplace on the western wall and by the main staircase hall to the east.^[47] The original plans called for a circular stair between the model room's main floor and the balcony, but this stair was never built; the clubhouse's main staircase connects the model room and the balcony.^[43] At the center of the ceiling is a backlit skylight made of stained glass^[41] and placed 26 feet (7.9 m) above the main floor.^[39][43] The skylight is the only remaining Tiffany glass skylight in New York City that has not been relocated.^[60] It contains decorations of stars^[29] and is flanked by a pair of white panels.^[47] Three large chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling.^[25] The club's card room is at the same level as the model room's balcony.^[18][19] The card room contains dark-red burlap walls, upon which numerous portraits are hung.^[33]

Upper stories

The fourth story^[b] is the highest story that is visible from the street.^[42] It contains a library and chartroom facing 44th Street, which collectively span the facade.^[18][19][49] The library and chartroom occupy the front section of the building, and the spaces measure either 35 by 75 feet (11 by 23 m)^[33] or 40 by 70 feet (12 by 21 m).^[39] The library itself measures 32 by 46 feet (9.8 by 14.0 m), and the chartroom measures 34 by 28 feet (10.4 by 8.5 m).^[38] The library featured rare old prints, lithographs, photographs, watercolors, and other objects relating to yachting.^[62] It could fit thousands of volumes;^[48][49] in 2001, the space had 13,000 volumes, which were stored in climate-controlled spaces.^[29] The library originally contained oak bookcases with glass doors, and it had a marquetry floor covered with red rugs.^[25] Also in the library is a large fireplace donated by James Gordon Bennett.^[33] Generally, access to the library is restricted to club members,^[29] although its visitors have also included historians, researchers, and lawyers.^[63]

At the rear of the clubhouse's fourth floor are the club's private dining rooms, two committee rooms, and the offices of the librarian, treasurer, and secretary.^[25][33] The rear wall is set back by about 11 feet, giving the dining room a private terrace that faces northward.^[39]

In the original plans, there were to be 20 bedrooms on the fourth through seventh floors. These rooms would have been illuminated by a light court in the center, as well as windows to the north and south.^[18][19] As built, there were 18 bedrooms^[33] on the fifth through seventh floors, within the mansard roof.^[25][39] The fifth story also contains a club room with French doors on its south wall, which open onto a balcony facing 44th Street.^[25][33] The balcony was originally paved in red stone and was covered with green trellises.^[33] The top floor was used as servants' quarters.^[48]

Staircases and elevator

A grand staircase of Caen stone leads from the ground floor to the second story.

By the 1890s, many of New York City's social clubs were headquartered in converted residences, but increased membership forced several clubs, including the NYYC, to build clubhouses of their own.[66] The NYYC's members began advocating for a new clubhouse.^[59][71] The club had 1,038 members in 1894, and membership elections and special events at 67 Madison Avenue were often standing-room only.^[59] In addition, the club had seven yacht "stations" across the East Coast of the United States, including a particularly elaborate station in Newport, Rhode Island.^[72]

Planning and construction

In October 1897, the NYYC's board voted to establish a five-person committee to select a site and raise money for a new clubhouse in New York City.^[73][74] The committee first convened in January 1898,^[75] even as the NYYC's members debated constructing the proposed clubhouse outside city limits.^[68][72] Other members opposed the idea of a new clubhouse entirely, instead wishing to maintain the club's existing stations.^[72] The committee eventually identified two potential sites for the clubhouse,^[76][77] but most NYYC members were noncommittal about either site.^[72]

At a board meeting on October 27, 1898, J. P. Morgan (the club's former commodore) offered to acquire the larger of the two sites, a 75-by-100-foot (23 by 30 m) plot on 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan.^[76][77] The site was composed of three separate lots at 37 to 41 West 44th Street.^[77] Morgan promised to buy the site immediately, but only if the NYYC raised its annual membership dues from $25 to $50 and if the new clubhouse occupied the entire site.^[72][77] The NYYC's board accepted his offer, and Morgan bought the lots the next day for $148,000.^[78][79] At the time, the building itself was projected to cost $200,000,^[78] and the NYYC's members had already pledged to donate $75,000 toward the clubhouse's construction.^[79]

The NYYC hosted an

The New-York Tribune reported in September 1900 that the New York Yacht Club Building "lacked one story" and was nearly completed.[10] By the following month, the members had subscribed $113,000 toward the construction of the clubhouse, which was scheduled to be completed that December.^[86] Although the building was still incomplete at the end of that year, the NYYC had begun relocating its books from its old Madison Avenue headquarters into the new 44th Street clubhouse.^[25] The NYYC held its final meeting at its Madison Avenue clubhouse on January 15, 1901; at the time, the club had 1,495 members.^[87] Members started moving to the 44th Street clubhouse four days later, on January 19, although the building was still incomplete.^[88] The structure's final cost was estimated at $350,000;^[38][42][47] including the land, the entire project had cost about $500,000.^[42][33] NYYC members hosted an informal housewarming party on January 29, 1901, giving Morgan a trophy in gratitude of his purchase of the site.^[89][90] Two days later, the all-male club held its first formal reception for female guests.^[91][92]

Early and mid-20th century

The NYYC conducted its annual meetings in the model room, where it inducted new members, elected its commodore, scheduled competitions, and changed rules for its regattas.^[93] The New York Yacht Club Building also hosted events such as annual New Year's Eve dinners, where club members drank eggnog.^[40] At the club's 1902 annual meeting, the NYYC's secretary reported that the club "was in the best condition in its history".^[94] By the next year, the club had grown to 2,000 members;^[95] the club reached its maximum membership in 1907.^[40] The 44th Street clubhouse was known as the "city house".^[96][97] In addition to the 44th Street clubhouse, the NYYC had stations on the East River in Manhattan, as well as in Glen Cove, New York; Newport, Rhode Island; and various other locales in the northeastern United States. During the summer, the NYYC met in Glen Cove and Newport and held regattas there.^[98] The NYYC station in Glen Cove was actually the original Hoboken clubhouse, which had been relocated there in 1904,^[97][99] while the Newport station had been acquired in 1915 for use as a summer clubhouse.^[100]

The clubhouse's main entrance was slightly truncated in 1916, when the New York City government widened 44th Street.^[101] In 1928, the NYYC bought an adjacent three-story building at 35 West 44th Street from J.P. Morgan, Arthur Curtiss James, and Cornelius Vanderbilt III,^[102] thus protecting the building's natural light exposure.^[103] By the end of the decade, many of the area's clubs were relocating uptown, but the NYYC remained at its longtime headquarters on 44th Street.^[104][105] The clubhouse continued to be used for events such as annual meetings and informal dinners.^[106] Women were finally allowed into the clubhouse after the NYYC started accepting female members in 1936.^[107] Prior to this change, women could only enter the visitors' room, and no woman had visited the upper stories since 1901. The NYYC had several female associate members, who could use the Glen Cove, Newport, and East River stations but could not enter the 44th Street clubhouse.^[108] The club's membership was still predominantly male; women still could not visit the bar or eat lunch at the clubhouse.^[109] In the 1940s, the clubhouse's barbershop was closed and replaced with a women's restroom.^[29]

The NYYC sold off 35 West 44th Street in 1945,^[103] but it continued to operate out of 37 West 44th Street.^[110] After World War II, the cafe became a trophy room,^[43] and the billiards room became a bar when the clubhouse's original bar was converted to mailboxes.^[29] In 1955, the club filed alteration plans with the New York City Department of Buildings.^[111] At some point during the mid-20th century, the facade was painted gray, and the pergola and flagpoles on the facade were removed.^[20] The skylight began to leak, causing lead panels to fall onto the model room's floor, and was repaired.^[29] By the end of the 1950s, the number of social clubs in New York City had declined significantly, and the NYYC was one of the city's only yacht clubs. At the time, the city had about 30 social clubs, compared with the 100 clubs at the beginning of the 20th century.^[112] Even so, the New York Yacht Club Building remained prestigious.^[113]

Late 20th century to present

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the New York Yacht Club Building as a city landmark on September 11, 1979,^[114][115] The club had opposed the designation, which would make it more difficult to modify the building,^[116] and the NYYC and LPC became involved in a legal dispute over the city-landmark status.^[20] The club's lawyer had claimed that the building had "no historical significance" and that it should not have been designated just because the clubhouse contained the America's Cup, "the ugliest sporting trophy in the world".^[116] The NYYC subsequently lost the 1983 America's Cup to the Royal Perth Yacht Club,^[117][58] and the America's Cup trophy, which had been a longtime fixture of the clubhouse, was removed from the model room.^[118][119] During this decade, the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound also had offices on the sixth floor of the clubhouse.^[120] By then, the NYYC no longer had a dock in New York City.^[121]

The club began renovating the building's interior in 1985, restoring chandeliers and other architectural details to their original condition.^[118] The building was further designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.^[7][122] After the interior modifications were completed, the club started renovating the exterior in 1992 at a cost of $600,000.^[37] The NYYC requested permission from the LPC to restore the flagpoles and pergola on the facade. The club also planned to remove the gray paint on the facade, since the paint had decreased the porosity of the stone, which in turn had caused moisture problems.^[20] The following year, Eliot Soffes of architectural firm Paino/Soffes designed a restoration of the pergola at a projected cost of $35,000. The pergola was rebuilt entirely for aesthetic purposes, as the rooftop terrace under the original pergola was not rebuilt.^[123] These renovations were conducted in advance of the club's 150th anniversary.^[124]

In the 1990s, the NYYC sold 280,000 square feet (26,000 m²) of the site's unused air rights to the developers of the Sofitel, which was built immediately to the west. During the Sofitel's construction, workers underpinned the New York Yacht Club Building's foundation and erected scaffolding above the skylight.^[60] The grill room and model room were cleaned prior to the clubhouse's 100th anniversary in 2001. Before this renovation, the grill room had never been cleaned, and the walls had been blackened by the residue that had accumulated over the prior century.^[29] The NYYC hosted a party in January 2001 to mark the clubhouse's centennial, at which point the club had grown to 3,000 members.^[37][29] To celebrate the anniversary, John Rousmaniere wrote a book about the building's history.^[30]

Critical reception

After the clubhouse was completed, A. J. Kenealy wrote for Outing magazine, "The interior is superb in every way, combining all the luxuries and conveniences of this sybarite age", praising the model room and grill room in particular.^[125] Scientific American magazine wrote that Warren & Wetmore's design had produced "an extremely pleasing and satisfactory result" and that the cozy ambiance of the interior "should be a sine qua non in every clubhouse".^[38] Frederick Toombs of Town & Country magazine wrote that, while the facade "presents a most inviting appearance [...] it is not until the interior is seen that the building and its equipment is best appreciated".^[64] The Washington Post stated: "One of the most interesting spots that an enthusiastic yachtsman can visit is the model room of the New York Yacht Club".^[52] Architectural Review magazine wrote that there was "some semblance of reserve in the exterior", but it sharply criticized the interior: "Surely this is not legitimate architectural design. It is very pleasant fooling, but scarcely anything more."^[20] Architectural Review particularly criticized the space as having a "riot of swags and spinach, icicles and exotic vegetation".^[20][29]

The clubhouse continued to receive critical acclaim long after its completion. Upon the NYYC's 70th anniversary in 1914, The New York Times wrote that the 44th Street clubhouse was "one of the finest buildings of the kind in the city".^[126] The New York Herald Tribune wrote in 1927 that the building has "such distinction and dignity as to arrest the attention of passers-by", but that the model room and the grill are "perhaps the most interesting spots".^[98] At the club's centennial in 1944, the Herald Tribune wrote that the 44th Street building represented "the growth of the club and the spread of its influence".^[65] The Times called the clubhouse "one of the city's most attractive structures" in 1959,^[112] while another writer described the structure as a "bulbous stone fantasy".^[116][127] Times architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable described the building as "a baroque extravaganza with flowing water carved below galleon‐shaped windows".^[128] A writer for Vanity Fair said in 2012 that "the windows look like they were plucked from a galleon".^[129]

The NYYC wrote of its own building: "There is no industrial restlessness in Whitney Warren's remarkable building on West 44th Street. Here, all that moves is the imaginary bow wave under a favorite model and, if one looks at the fireplace long enough, the occasional sway of the seaweed."^[130] Rousmaniere said in 2001: "It seems strange that an elite club, and that's what they were, was so open. But [the club] wanted you to look in."^[37] Robert Mackay, of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, described the model room as "one of the great rooms of the city in terms of architectural heritage".^[29]

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets

References

Notes

Citations