Landmark Lecture: The History of the Montauk Club, An Architectural Treasure

The New York Landmarks Conservancy In partnership with The General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of the City of New York cordially invites you to a Landmark Lecture

The History of the Montauk Club: An Architectural Treasure
With Mary Brennan, President, and Dylan Yeats, Vice President

This will be an in-person and online lecture on Tuesday, June 13th 6:00 pm

General Society of Mechanics & Tradesmen of The City of New York
20 West 44th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
Manhattan

The Montauk Club was founded in 1889 in Brooklyn, in the tradition of private clubs at the height of the Gilded Age. Its magnificent Club House was designed by famed New York architect Francis H. Kimball, inspired by a palace on Venice’s Grand Canal. The Club House was completed in 1891 and its Venetian Gothic architecture, carved mahogany woodwork, terracotta façade, and beautiful stained glass windows remain its signature features. Today, the Club is a vibrant part of its Park Slope, Brooklyn neighborhood, offering a variety of events year round. In this talk, President of the Montauk Club, Mary Brennan, and Vice President Dylan Yeats will discuss its fascinating history.

Over the Club’s 134-year-old history it has not only been celebrated and visited by eight American Presidents including John F. Kennedy, but it has also encountered a number of challenges. Ms. Brennan and Mr. Yeats will discuss the many milestones (positive and negative) in the Club’s distinguished history, the Club’s current programs and explain how it has managed to survive as Brooklyn’s last operating private club. They will also provide the background to The Montauk Club building receiving the Lucy G. Moses Excellence in Historic Preservation Award from The New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Municipal Art Society’s MASterworks Award for Best Restoration.

The Brownstoner described The Montauk Club: “The result is a building uniquely late 19th century American, emphasized by the Native American theme in the ornamentation. Where else would one find a Venetian palazzo with Gothic tracery, Victorian stained glass, and columns with Native American faces as capitals? It’s all wonderfully unique and beautiful.”