The Union League of Philadelphia, founded in 1862 as a pro-Republican, pro-Lincoln, pro-Abolition political organization, its the Most widely-know of the Philadelphia clubs. Their building on south Broad St was finished in 1865 and was supposed to be dedicated by Lincoln himself, who has assassinated before the event could happen. There are contemporary images of the building bunted in black after his death. Among other things, it holds one of the best Civil War collections in the country and a surprisingly good art collection. My favorite piece is probably a bust of Lincoln by Daniel Chester French. Its a scaled-down version of the head of the statue in the Lincoln Memorial and was commissioned by the League. Rear addition covering most of the block all the way back to 15 th St by Horace Trumbauer was completed in 1910. They didnt allow women to join (or anywhere inside except the main dining room) until 1988 and I thing their first black member was elected sometime after that. Theyve become much more open in recent years as membership has died off and they struggle to replace them; theyve held cocktail parties to entice new members, actively courted the power elite of the local gay community and I dont think you even have to be a Republican any more to join!
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 12:05:12 +0000
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