Princeton Club of New York

Princeton Club of New York

Successor	Merged into Penn Club of New York[1][2]
Formation	December 12, 1866; 158 years ago (1866-12-12)
Type	Private Club
Legal status	Social and recreational club
Location	New York City, NY, U.S.
Region served	New York metropolitan area

The Princeton Club of New York was a private clubhouse located at 15 West 43rd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, New York, founded in 1866 as the Princeton Alumni Association of New York. It reorganized to its current name in 1886. Its membership was composed of alumni and faculty of Princeton University, as well as 15 other affiliated schools.

In 2021, the club defaulted on its $40 million mortgage debt and the property was foreclosed.^[3][4][5] The building was sold in December 2023 for $8 million.

History

The club was founded as the Princeton Alumni Association of New York in 1866. In 1886, it reorganized as the Princeton Club of New York, incorporating as a club under New York laws on December 12, 1899.^[6][7] Unlike other alumni clubs on Clubhouse Row, the organization had no financial relation to Princeton University.^[4][8]

Since its incorporation, the club had four homes, with its final location being at 15 West 43rd Street in Manhattan from February 1963 to December 2023.^[9] The clubhouse was located on Clubhouse Row, where many of New York City's other clubs are located.^[10]

The club closed in March 2020 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened, losing approximately one-third of its fees-paying members during the initial year of closure.^[8] In October 2021, the club defaulted on $39.3 million in mortgage debt from lender Sterling National Bank.^[11][4][5] In December 2021, 15 West 43rd Street LLC purchased the defaulted loan from Sterling and in June 2022 the LLC sued to foreclose on the property.^[3] 15 West 43rd Street LLC, a shell company, bought the building in December 2023 for $8 million.^[12][13]

The Columbia University Club of New York was in residence at the Princeton Club from 1998 to 2017, when it left to become in-residence at The Penn Club at 30 West 44th Street.^[14][15] Similarly, the in-residence Williams Club also moved to the Penn Club of New York in March 2022 following the closure of the Princeton Club.^[2]

Amenities

The ten-story club featured a variety of amenities for its members, including two restaurants, banquet space, a fitness center, squash courts, and 58 guest rooms.^[4][16] The club featured 9,000 square feet (840 m²), where it hosted events throughout the year for its members.^[16]

Membership

Membership in the Princeton Club was restricted to alumni, faculty, and students of Princeton University, as well as 15 other affiliated colleges and universities, reporting approximately 6,000 members in its final years^[16][17]

See also

• Penn Club of New York
• Columbia University Club of New York
• Williams Club
• List of American gentlemen's clubs

References

1. Chao, Eveline (January 7, 2022). "It Wasn't Just the Pandemic That Closed the Princeton Club". Curbed. Archived from the original on November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
2. Alexander, Benjamin (October 18, 2022). "Williams Club in New York moves to Penn Club building". The Williams Record. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
3. Monahan, Shea (June 9, 2022). "Creditor Files to Foreclose on Princeton Club's Midtown Home". The Real Deal New York. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
4. Boyle, Matthew (October 20, 2021). "Princeton Club of NYC on Life Support After Defaulting on Mortgage". Bloomberg News. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
5. Kagan, Sam; Opperman, Lia (October 27, 2021). "Princeton Club of New York defaults on mortgage". The Daily Princetonian. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
6. Club Men of New York: Their Occupations, and Business and Home Addresses: Sketches of Each of the Organizations: College Alumni Associations. New York: Republic Press. 1902. p. 29. OCLC 8726209.
7. Mellby, Julie (February 2, 2016). "Princeton Club of New York City". Graphic Arts. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
8. Boyle, Matthew (February 6, 2023). "NYC's Shuttered Princeton Club Lands in Tussle Over Trademark Name". Bloomberg News. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
9. Leitch, Alexander (1978). A Princeton Companion. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 378. ISBN 978-0-691-04654-9. JSTOR j.ctt13x0zx2.
10. Slatin, Peter (May 9, 1993). "Penn's Racing to Join Clubhouse Row". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
11. "Princeton Club Defaults on $40M Mortgage, Could Lose Midtown Home". The Real Deal. October 20, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
12. Hughes, C.J. (December 5, 2023). "Midtown's debt-ridden Princeton Club changes hands for $8 million". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
13. "Lender Acquires Princeton Club for $8M". The Real Deal. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
14. "The Columbia Club's New Home". Columbia College Today. July 5, 2017. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
15. Skelding, Conor (August 4, 2016). "Columbia, Princeton clubs at impasse over residence agreement". Politico. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
16. "PCNY – Princeton Club – New York, NY". The Princeton Club of New York. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
17. "Associate Schools – Princeton Club – New York, NY". The Princeton Club of New York. Retrieved October 29, 2021.