Union League Club

48 Park Avenue | also 38 East 37th Street | Midtown | built 1931

Open on the map4 entries

The lot about 1940
About 1940. Via 1940s.nyc
The lot about 1985
About 1985. Via 80s.nyc

The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.

Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.

  1. 1929

    Covenants cap the new Union League clubhouse at 173 feet with setbacks at 90 and 133 feet

    Benjamin Wistar Morris designed the clubhouse, but its form was shaped by restrictions that came with the land. In 1929 the club bought the site from various Morgan concerns. It agreed to a maximum height of 173 feet, with setbacks at 90 and 133 feet. The first setback was well below what the 1916 zoning resolution allowed. The club also had to leave a 10-foot buffer along the south lot line and paint the lower parts of the west and south walls white.

    “…it agreed to build no taller than 173 feet, with setbacks defined at 90 and 133 feet.”

    Source: NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission

  2. 1936

    December 24

    Boys from the East River waterfront crash the Union League Club's Christmas party for needy children

    The club's annual Christmas party in 1936 was set to feature baseball star Lou Gehrig handing out presents. The WPA Federal Theatre Circus was to put on a two-hour show for 200 needy children, followed by a turkey dinner. About twenty boys from the East River waterfront waited nearby on Christmas Eve and slipped in behind the first busload of invited children, past the doorman. Lloyd Taylor, who ran the event, quickly noticed them and later told a reporter, "Well, it's Christmas."

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  3. 1937

    Union League Club votes to lift its Republicans-only rule on membership

    A major change came in January 1937. The New York Times reported on January 15 that the Union League Club, which had admitted only Republicans since its organization in 1863, had voted the night before to end that restriction on membership.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

  4. 1989

    December 7

    Sculptor Mark di Suvero is turned away from his own award dinner at the club over its dress code

    Sculptor Mark di Suvero was due to receive an award from the Sculpture Center at the club on December 7, 1989. About 240 people were waiting to honor him, according to Newsday. He arrived in white high-top basketball shoes, pants, shirts and a sweater. The doorman lent him a jacket and tie, but he put the jacket on backwards in protest. Neither side gave way, and he left without entering.

    Source: Daytonian in Manhattan

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