Long ago, in the age that is past, some men of Harvard built a small Clubhouse at 27 West 44th Street in New York City. They called it Harvard House. It soon became a popular place for graduates of Harvard to gather, so much so, the original 1894 building had to be enlarged in 1905, 1915, and again in 1946. Each time the Clubhouse was expanded, the membership of the Club skyrocketed.

The 1946 expansion was a classic case of too little, too late. The post-war addition increased the Clubhouse 6 percent, while the membership rose by 150 percent. In the following years, members continued to join the Club and use its facilities. The facilities became crowded and the building continued to age. The combination of heavy use and aging began to cause problems.

Club administrations continued to seek solutions to the problem. Beginning in the 1980s a series of committees were appointed to find means for additional expansion of the Clubhouse. One such committee obtained an option on property at 35 West 44th Street, others had prominent architects design additions. For one reason or another (often due to cost), each plan was abandoned before completion. Meanwhile, maintenance had been deferred. At the turn of the century, a new committee was appointed to establish a Master Plan to accomplish that maintenance.

This is the real-life story of an amazing building. Browse through this portion of our site to get the whole story.

Please take note that the building site tours have been discontinued for safety reasons until after December as the site will be under a flurry of activity for the next few months.

General Manager, Robert Arnold, leads members on the first tour of the addition to the Clubhouse.

Visit our pictorial diary of the construction. Watch the entire process from demolition to finished paint. Along the way we will take a few side trips to discover some fascinating things about this amazing building.