{{Short description|Social club in New York City}} {{Use American English|date=July 2024}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{for|the 1894 building in Detroit, Michigan|Harmonie Club (Detroit, Michigan)}} {{infobox organization |name = The Montauk Club |image = Montauk Club from 8th Avenue.jpg |image_border = |image_size = 275px |caption = The club as seen from Eighth Avenue (2013) |map = |map_size = |map_caption = |abbreviation = |formation = {{Start date|1889|3|11}} |extinction = |type = Social Club |status = |purpose = |headquarters = 25 Eighth Avenue |location = Brooklyn, New York |region_served = New York metropolitan area |coordinates = {{coord|40.6748|N|73.9717|W|region:US_type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |membership = |language = |leader_title = President |leader_name = |main_organ = |parent organization = |affiliations = |num_staff = |num_volunteers = |budget = |website = [http://montaukclub.com montaukclub.com] |remarks = |former_name = }}
The '''Montauk Club''' is a social club located in a Francis Kimball-designed building in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Club provides dining and drinking services.
==History== The Club was founded in 1889 as a traditional men's social club by a group looking for a club located in the rapidly-developing Park Slope area. The initial group of 25 charter members quickly grew to 300 and became the most prominent club in Brooklyn. Charles Pratt, Richard Schermerhorn, Edwin Clark Litchfield and Robert Pinkerton were early members. Of the hundreds of clubs in Brooklyn at the time, the Montauk Club is the only one still in existence.
The landmark clubhouse was built in 1889-91 and was designed by Francis H. Kimball in the Venetian Gothic. It is reported to have been modeled after the Palazzo Santa Sofia (Ca' d'Oro) on Venice's Grand Canal.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Brooklyn's Park Slope|last1=Merlis|first1=Brian|last2=Rosenzweig|first2=Lee|publisher=Sheepshead Bay Historical Society & Israelowitz Publishing|year=1999|isbn=1878741470|location=New York|pages=145}}</ref> Built of brownstone and brick, it features verdigris copper and terra cotta produced by the New York Architectural Terra Cotta Works. It is ornamented with representations of the Montauk tribe of Native Americans the club is named after, which can be found on the building's capitals, over the main entrance, and on a continuous frieze between the third and fourth floors. Other panels depict a meeting in 1659 between the Montauks and Europeans, and the laying of the cornerstone of the building. The smaller staircase to the left of the main entrance was built as the Ladies' Entrance, the first of its kind in any social club in Brooklyn or Manhattan. It is now used as the entrance to the condominium units (see below).<ref name=nycland>{{cite nycland|page=254}}</ref><ref name=aia>{{cite aia5|page=653}}</ref>
The club is located within the New York City Landmark Preservation Commission's Park Slope Historic District.<ref name=nycland /> In 2017, the Montauk Club building received the Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award from the New York Landmarks Conservancy and the Municipal Art Society's MaSterworks Award for Best Restoration.
Although not a political club, many prominent politicians of both parties were members, and the Club has hosted many prominent politicians over the years, including William McKinley, Grover Cleveland, Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. Hugh L. Carey, Governor of New York, was a member for many years.
Club membership declined in the period before Brooklyn's renaissance, and it became difficult to maintain the beautiful but aging clubhouse. The upper and basement floors were sold to a developer for condominiums, with the Club ultimately retaining ownership of the first and second floors.
With a growing membership, especially of younger members, the Club continues to provide community for families and individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://montaukclub.com/about/club-history/ |title=Club History |work=The Montauk Club of Brooklyn |accessdate=2010-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=New blood tries to save Slope's Montauk Club |first=Christine |last=Rizk |url=http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/30/16/30_16montaukclub.html |newspaper=The Brooklyn Paper |date=April 21, 2007 |accessdate=2010-07-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=The Montauk Club in Brooklyn; A Venetian Palace With a Native American Motif |first=Christopher |last=Gray |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E4D81639F93BA15757C0A960958260 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 28, 1996 |accessdate=2010-07-31}}</ref><ref name=nycland /><ref>{{cite news |title=The Takeover |first=Michael |last=Idov |url=http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/features/29736/ |magazine=New York |date=March 25, 2007 |accessdate=2010-07-31}}</ref>
==In popular culture== The club has been used as a location in films such as ''Prizzi's Honor'', ''Definitely, Maybe'', ''Gigantic'', '''Rounders'', ''Illuminata'', Q&A, and ''City Hall'' and television shows such as ''The Mysteries of Laura, Boardwalk Empire, Gotham, The Good Wife, Public Morals'' and ''Person of Interest''.
==Gallery== <gallery class="center" widths="187px" heights="167px"> File:Montauk Club from Park Street West.jpg|View of the building from the southeast, on Plaza Street West File:Montauk Club Park Street West facade detail.jpg|Detail of the Plaza Street West facade File:Montauk Club doorway.jpg|The main entrance to the building File:Montauk Club 8th Avenue facade detail.jpg|Detail of the Eighth Avenue facade, above the entrance </gallery>
==See also== * List of American gentlemen's clubs
== References == '''Notes''' {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{commons category-inline}} *{{Official website|http://www.montaukclub.com}}
Category:Clubs and societies in New York City Category:Gentlemen's clubs in New York City Category:Park Slope Category:Buildings and structures in Brooklyn Category:Culture of New York City Category:Organizations established in 1891 Category:1891 establishments in New York (state) Category:Gothic Revival architecture in New York City Category:Venetian Gothic architecture in the United States