 The Cosmopolitan Club at 122 East 66th, New York City | |
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| Abbreviation | Cos Club |
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| Formation | 1909; 117 years ago (1909) |
| Founder | Helen Gilman Brown (President),Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Edith Carpenter Macy, Adele Herter, Mrs. John Sherman Hoyt, Mrs. E. R. Hewitt, Mrs. Ellwood Hendrick |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Purpose | "Where women of accomplishment enjoy each other's company and pursue their interest in arts and letters, and current events.."[1] |
| Headquarters | 122 East 66th Street New York,NY |
Region served | New York metropolitan area (United States) |
| Website | CosClub.com |
TheCosmopolitan Club is aprivate members' club on theUpper East Side ofManhattan inNew York City,New York, United States. Located at 122 East66th Street, east ofPark Avenue, it has been since its founding a women's club. Members have includedWilla Cather,Ellen Glasgow,Eleanor Roosevelt,Jean Stafford,Helen Hayes,Pearl Buck,Marian Anderson,Margaret Mead, andAbby Aldrich Rockefeller.
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In 1909, the Cosmos Club formed as a club forgovernesses, leasing space in the Gibson Building on East 33rd Street.[2] The following year, the club became the Women's Cosmopolitan Club, "organized," according toThe New York Times, "for the benefit of New York women interested in the arts, sciences, education, literature, and philanthropy or in sympathy with those interested."[3] The club incorporated on March 22, 1911,[4] withHelen Gilman Brown as its president.[2] The other founding members wereAbby Aldrich Rockefeller, Edith Carpenter Macy (Mrs.V. Everit Macy), Adele Herter (Mrs.Albert Herter), Mrs. E. R. Hewitt, Mrs. John Sherman Hoyt, and Mrs. Ellwood Hendrick.[5] Dues were $20 a year.
Early notable members included novelistsWilla Cather andEllen Glasgow, violinistKathleen Parlow, sculptorAnna Hyatt, dancerAdeline Genée, philanthropistGrace Dodge, andElizabeth Clift Bacon Custer, the widow of GeneralGeorge Armstrong Custer,[citation needed], as well assuffragists.[6] In 1913, club members put on "An Evening in a Persian Garden," with snake dancers and readings of Persian verse. The success of the fête led to an increase in membership, and in 1914 the club moved to larger quarters at 44th Street and Lexington Avenue, shortening its name to the Cosmopolitan Club.
In December 1917, the club held an exhibition of paintings byPablo Picasso.[7] Guest speakers in that era included poetsAmy Lowell,Vachel Lindsay, andSiegfried Sassoon, educatorMaria Montessori, and First LadyLou Henry Hoover.
In 1932, the club moved to its current home, a ten-story brick building with white marble trim and wrought-iron balconies, situated at 122 East 66th Street, across the street from theSeventh Regiment Armory. The architectThomas Harlan Ellett designed the new clubhouse, for which theArchitectural League gave him its 1933 gold medal,[8] calling his design "a fresh and personal interpretation, beautiful in its simplicity of form and material."[9] In the years following its construction, the club invited numerous musicians to perform, such asSergei Prokofiev,Nadia Boulanger,Count Basie andLotte Lenya, and invited numerous luminaries to speak, such as poetRobert Frost and journalistsDorothy Thompson andEdward R. Murrow.
By 1917, the club had 600 members, with another 400 on its waiting list.[10]
According to its current (2018) website, "for over a century" the club has been "a gathering place where women of accomplishment enjoy each other's company and pursue their interest in arts and letters, and current events."[1] The club has a dress code; among other strictures, the wearing of blue jeans and running shoes is prohibited.[11]
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40°46′00″N73°57′56″W / 40.7667°N 73.9656°W /40.7667; -73.9656
