Harvard Club of Boston

The Harvard Club of Boston is a private social club located in Boston, Massachusetts. Its membership is restricted to alumni and associates of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, and Yale University.^[1] It has two clubhouses, a Back Bay clubhouse located in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, at 374 Commonwealth Avenue, and a Downtown clubhouse on the top floor of One Federal Street, in Boston's Financial District.^[2]

History

The Harvard Club was founded by a group of 22 Harvard alumni in 1908. The original dues were $5.00 per year, and by the end of the year, more than 1,200 members had joined. The first president, Henry Lee Higginson, was also the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1909, the Club established its first scholarships. One of the first recipients of these scholarships, James Bryant Conant, went on to become the 23rd president of Harvard. Famous people to have spoken at the Club include Vice President Dick Cheney, Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Kissinger, William Taft, Robert Frost, Buckminster Fuller and John Foster Dulles.^[3][4] In 1913, the Club decided to construct a clubhouse, the Back Bay Clubhouse at 374 Commonwealth Avenue. In 1925, eight squash courts were built. During World War II, cots were placed in these courts and lodging was offered to military officers at the cost of $1.50 per night. In 1976, the Downtown clubhouse was purchased at One Federal Street, providing a location more convenient to most of Boston's offices.

Membership

Alumni from Harvard College and all of the University's graduate schools are eligible for membership. So are students and faculty. Alumni from Yale University, The Fletcher School of Diplomacy, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are eligible too. There's no waiting period or interview required. Dues are on a sliding scale, based on age and proximity to the Club. A one-time initiation fee, equal to a member’s annual dues, is payable upon application. They also offer Joint Membership Program with the Harvard Club of New York. Simply join whichever Club is closer to your home. Harvard alumni, students and faculty as well as Yale & Fletcher School of Diplomacy alumni are eligible for full Harvard Club memberships only. Squash and Fitness memberships are available for an additional fee. Like most private clubs, members of the Harvard Club are given reciprocal benefits at 130 clubs around the United States and the world. The Downtown Harvard Clubhouse is open to non-Harvard affiliates and offers restricted access to the Back Bay Clubhouse.

Back Bay Clubhouse

The Clubhouse's facilities include three dining rooms, the Club Pub, the Veritas restaurant and lounge, 25 guest rooms, ten squash courts, a fitness center, and numerous function rooms, including Harvard Hall, which has hosted events ranging from prize fights to squash matches.^[5] Dress code for dinner in the Veritas Restaurant is jacket and tie, but otherwise, the code is business casual.

Harvard Club Foundation

The Harvard Club maintains a Foundation, with a separate Board of Directors from the club's Board of Governors, which oversees assets in excess of $10,000,000. The purpose of the Foundation is to support the activities of the University, primarily through providing undergraduate financial aid. The Foundation also supports the University's undergraduate admissions program by hosting receptions for admitted students, as well as sponsoring the Prize Book program. In 2008, the Foundation donated $510,944 to undergraduate financial aid.^[6]

See also

• Columbia University Club of New York
• Cornell Club of New York
• Harvard Club of New York
• Harvard Club of Washington DC
• List of American gentlemen's clubs
• Oxford and Cambridge Club
• Penn Club of New York City
• Princeton Club of New York
• Yale Club of New York City

References

Coordinates: 42°20′55.4″N 71°5′21.1″W / 42.348722°N 71.089194°W / 42.348722; -71.089194