Faculty Club

The Faculty Club was formed after the acquisition in 1922 of the house at 13 Brown Street. President Faunce, in his annual report in October 1922, pointed out the desire of the University to improve the “mutual acquaintance which is the prerequisite of intellectual understanding and cooperation.” The club rooms on the first floor were furnished by the Faculty, and Faunce announced that “Modest annual dues will make it possible for all to join the new organization.” The upper floors were rented as living quarters to single faculty members and also to assistants and graduate students. In 1938 the Faculty Club moved to the house at 1 Megee Street, the former home of Zachariah Allen 1813, designed by Alfred Stone and built in 1864, which had become the home of William Ely 1878. The house was officially called “Ely House.” At about the same time a new Faculty House at 166 George Street was purchased to house bachelor faculty members who had lived at the old Faculty Club, which was converted into an infirmary and named Andrews House.

Membership in the Faculty Club was originally restricted to members of the faculty of professorial rank, full-time instructors, and administrative officers designated by the Board of Governors. Dining facilities were provided under the direction of the Cafe Committee. In 1944 the Board of Governors admitted women to the main dining room. Traditional activities of the Club were annual smokers in the fall to introduce new faculty members and special luncheons with guest speakers held twice a month. In 1957 a new room in the basement was opened as a self-service lunchroom and later in the afternoon as an informal cocktail lounge, for which the principal ingredients were stored by faculty members in rented lockers. The room was named the “Pine Room.” In 1975 improvements were made to the building in the form of four new dining rooms. The basement room, now named the “Brown Jug,” was decorated with memorabilia of the 1920s, and also with a Class D liquor license obtained in December 1975. At the same time the membership of the Club was augmented by the admission of alumni and alumnae members. A major renovation of the Faculty Club was undertaken in 1980, when a one-story wing to the north and east, designed by Ira Rakatansky, was added, providing a main dining room for 100.