View all newsletters
Latest in Luxury - Sign up to our weekly newsletter

In Its Third Century, New York’s Lotos Club Flowers Is Still Flowering

By Chris Boyle

Samuel Clemens was a member.  Woodrow Wilson lectured at it.  There have been exhibits of Degas, Monet and Renoir at it.  The Lotos Club, dubbed “The Ace of Clubs” by member by Clemens, better know by his pen name Mark Twain, was founded in 1870 as a private members club for journalists, scholars, musicians, painters and sculptors, art collectors and enthusiasts, historians and novelists.

getImage

Located on New York’s Upper East Side in a historic townhouse, it is known for its annual State Dinners whose honorees have included Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Andrew Carnegie, Amelia Earhart, Leonard Bernstein and Walter Cronkite.

 

The Club’s name and motto are inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Lotos Eaters”.  The atmosphere of the club is meant to afford the environment for creative musings and stimulating conversations as in “… a land / In which it seemed always afternoon”.

 

A block from Central Park the French Renaissance townhouse was constructed in 1900 and designed by Richard Howland Hunt. Each room at the Lotos Club is restored to the splendor of an earlier time, and rivals the interiors of Manhattan’s most renowned turn-of-the-century landmarks.  Members and guests enjoy the Lotos Club’s grill room, its walls adorned with paintings and prints; the elegant, ivory white ballroom; and the tall-ceilinged, wood-paneled library.  Other gathering and dining spots include the Tennyson Room, The Wedgwood Suite and the Directors’ Room.

getImage-1

My recent dining experience at The Grill (top picture)  found an impressive menu of American cuisine, including a cold lobster salad, nice steaks, duck and well made martinis.  The Club is available for special events, private parties and wedding receptions. There are overnight accommodations with 24-hour staff.

Content from our partners
The Best Ways to Experience the Rioja Wine Region
The Ritz-Carlton, St. Thomas Club Level: Elevating Luxury in Paradise
Why Northeastern Spain is the Finest Family Destination

Members get reciprocal benefits at over 50 other clubs worldwide, including The Algonquin Club in Boston; The Chicago Club, The University Club and Urban League in Chicago; The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth; The Pacific Club in Honolulu; The California Club in Los Angeles; University Club and Concordia-Argonaut in San Francisco; The Rainier Club in Seattle; The Cosmos Club and The University Club in Washington D.C.; plus International Club in Berlin; Kildare Street and University Club in Dublin; Il Circolo Dell’Unione in Florence; The Hong Kong Club; The Athenaeum, The East India Club, The Garrick Club, The Landsdowne, The Reform Club, and The Savile Club, all in London, and clubs in Milan, Montreal, Cercle de L’Union Interalliee in Paris, Quebec, Rome, Stockholm, Sydney and Toronto.

getImage-2

In addition to Clemens, famous members included Civil War correspondent Thomas W. Knox, New York Mayor A. Oakey Hall, and U.S. President and Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft.  Past Club presidents range from Whitelaw Reid, editor of The New York Tribune, to longtime Columbia University President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nicholas Murray Butler.

 

Topics in this article :
Select and enter your email address Be the first to know about the latest in luxury lifestyle. Get the latest news on hotel openings and in-depth travel guides. Get insider access to exclusive promotions and special offers from our luxury partners.
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thank you for subscribing to Elite Traveler.

Websites in our network