The Commonwealth Club

This article is about the historic Virginia building. For other uses, see Commonwealth Club (disambiguation).

Commonwealth Club
Location319-415 and 400-500 West Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates37°32′46″N 77°26′52″W / 37.54611°N 77.44778°W / 37.54611; -77.44778
Built1891
ArchitectCarrère and Hastings
Architectural styleColonial Revival, Richardsonian Romanesque
Websitewww.thecommonwealthclub.net
Part ofCommonwealth Club Historic District (ID83003301)
Added to NRHPApril 7, 1983[1]

The Commonwealth Club is a private gentlemen's club in Richmond, Virginia, United States. Its present clubhouse was designed by Carrère and Hastings and completed in 1891 and is the defining structure of the Commonwealth Club Historic District.

History

The Commonwealth Club is a private gentlemen's club that was established in 1890 in Richmond, Virginia.[2] Most of its founders were former Confederate soldiers.[3] According to Langhorne Gibson Jr. who wrote the authorized history of the club, its founders wanted a place "to relive the glory years, to remember the South's hope and the exploits of her heroes."[3]

Its present clubhouse was completed in 1891 at 401 West Franklin Street and occupied by the club in 1892.[2] The New York City-based firm of Carrère and Hastings was chosen to design a building.[2]

The Commonwealth Club merged with the older Richmond Club and, later, with the Westmoreland Club in 1937.[2] The club is known for activities such as bridge, cigar smoking, whiskey drinking, boxing matches, and swimming.[3] The club hosts the annual Richmond German Christmas Dance, the oldest debutante ball in Virginia.[4][5] The ebutantes are usually relatives of members of The Commonwealth Club.[6]

The Commonwealth Club and its members garnered a significant amount of political influence.[3] Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Paul Williams and Karen Kapsidelis called it “a symbol of white male political hegemony.”[3] During the Civil Rights era, the club was considered "the last stronghold of white supremacy".[3]

The Commonwealth Club building is the defining structure of the Commonwealth Club Historic District, designated on the Virginia Landmarks Register on October 19, 1982, and on the National Register of Historic Places on April 7, 1983.[7]

Architecture

The Commonwealth Club is considered to be one of the finest pieces of architecture in Richmond and was a physical symbol of Richmond's New South movement.[2] The Commonwealth Club is a unique structure among Richmond buildings.[2] Characterized by its deep red brick, brownstone trim, and terra cotta cartouches, the building is a combination of Colonial revival and Richardsonian Romanesque styles.[2] The Colonial revival tradition is reflected to promote a heritage for the future, and the Richardsonian style reflected the ability of Richmonders to afford an architectural style fashionable on a national level.[2] The structure is asymmetrical with different roof treatments on each side.[8] It also has a two-tiered porch on its east side.[8]

Inside, the building includes bars, dining rooms, a wine cellar, and a basement for social activities.[3] It is finished with antiques and portraits of Colonial and Confederate heroes.[3]

Membership

Historically, membership in The Commonwealth Club was only open to white Protestant men.[3] Its first Jewish members were admitted in the late 1960s, followed by its first Black member in 1988.[3][9] Women are not allowed to join, but are allowed to be guest of members.[9]

Its members are prominent businessmen, educators, lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians.[3][10] Members are handpicked and vetted.[3]

Controversies

In 1968, the Commonwealth Club did not invite William Ferguson Reid, the first African American legislator in Virginia since Reconstruction, to a cocktail party. Fifty other state politicians boycotted the party in response.[3]

Lieutenant Governor Douglas Wilder, an African American, and attorney general Mary Sue Terry, the first woman to hold a statewide office in Virginia, were excluded from the invitation list to the annual political chitterling breakfast at The Commonwealth Club in 1986.[3] In response, Virginia's Governor Gerald Baliles did not attend the high-profile function in 1987.[3]

When Douglas Wilder became the Governor of Virginia in 1989, he declined the traditional offer of an honorary membership in the Commonwealth Club.[3][9] Wilder had been worked as a waiter at the club in his youth.[3]

Andy Ngo cancelled a speaking engagement hosted by the Common Sense Society and the Virginia Council at the Commonwealth Club in September 2023, due to "the club's values".[3][10] However, FOX News reported that the Ngo event was cancelled by the Commonwealth Club, citing safety concerns over the possibility of Antifa doxing the event on Twitter.[10]

Notable members

See also

References

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "National Register of Historic Places received Inventory-Nomination Form: The Ccmonwealth Club Historic District" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Lo, Justin (August 5, 2025). "The Lost Cause Boys' Club". RVA Mag. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  4. ^ "Richmond German presents debutantes". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 21, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "New York Girls at Richmond Ball – First Monday German at the Virginia Capital Attended by Many Debutantes – Dinner Precedes Dance – Misses Cecil, Grosvenor, Oates and Kelsey Make Up This City's Contingent". The New York Times. December 13, 1938. p. 29. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "Richmond German presents debutantes". Richmond Times-Dispatch. January 10, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "Commonwealth Club Historic District". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. August 16, 2025. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  8. ^ a b Wilson, Richard Guy. "Commonwealth Club, [Richmond, Virginia]", SAH Archipedia. Accessed March 3, 2026.
  9. ^ a b c d Baker, Peter; Harris, John F. (March 16, 1994). "Gov. Allen to Join Club with No Women, Few Blacks". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  10. ^ a b c Herlihy, Brianna (September 22, 2023). "Multiple venues cancel journalism event featuring Andy Ngo after doxxing, 'bullying' by Antifa". Fox News. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  11. ^ The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia 1962-1981 (Richmond: Clerk of the House of Delegates 1983), p. 182
  12. ^ "William Armfield Obituary (2016) - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro News & Record". Legacy.com. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  13. ^ "Commonwealth Club is to Spend $110,000". Ledger-Star. Norfolk, Virginia. January 20, 1922. p. 4. Retrieved March 4, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Robert Daniel Jr. And Sally Chase Wed in Richmond; An Alumnus of Virginia Marries Graduate of Smith, '57 Debutante". The New York Times. May 3, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
  15. ^ "Collins Denny, Segregationist Counsel, Dies". The Progress-Index. Petersburg, Virginia. January 15, 1964. p. 16. Retrieved November 24, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. 57. New York, NY: James T. White & Co. 1977. p. 44 – via Internet Archive.
  17. ^ "Del. Frost Dies at 64". The Roanoke Times. September 19, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved September 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Dodson, E. Griffith (1939). The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1919–1939: Register. Richmond: Virginia State Library. p. 255. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  19. ^ "Norfolk Editor to be Buried in Hollywood: Douglas Gordan Rites Set Friday". The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia). May 4, 1944. p. 15. Retrieved June 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Eppa Hunton's Funeral Is Set For Tomorrow". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Vol. 82, no. 66. March 6, 1932. pp. 1, 10. Retrieved January 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Who's Who In America: Bicentennial Edition. Marquis Who's Who In America. Vol. 1 (39th ed.). Skokie: Rand McNally & Co. (published 1976). 1976–77. p. 1542. ISBN 0837901391. Retrieved September 4, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  22. ^ "Duncan Lee Rites Today at Hollywood". The Richmond News Leader. March 14, 1952. p. 20. Retrieved February 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Emmett H. Poindexter, 51, Of Fredericks Hall, Dies". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 22, 1945. p. 15. Retrieved June 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
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