The Union League Club was founded in 1863 to support the Union cause during the American Civil War. The first location in New York City was in Manhattan on 17th Street and Madison Avenue.
The Union League Club of Brooklyn was incorporated on March 16, 1888. As stated in its constitution, the mission of the Club was to "promote social intercourse; to advance the cause of good government by awakening a political interest in citizens; to overcome existing indifference in the discharge of political duties; and to perform such other work as may best conserve the welfare of the Republican party." Further, the Club promoted unconditional loyalty to the Federal Government and worked to maintain civil and political equality of all citizens.
The clubhouse, completed in 1892, was designed by the architecture firm of Lauritzen & Voss and was located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights, on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Dean Street. As of 2010, the building was home to a senior center. Besides the clubhouse, the Club's presence can still be felt in Crown Heights at the Grant Statue, located in Grant Square. The Club presented the statue to the (then) City of Brooklyn in 1896.
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Sources:
- Mooney, James E. "Union League Club." In
The Encyclopedia of New York City, edited by Kenneth T. Jackson, 1210. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; New York: New-York Historical Society, 1995.
From the guide to the Union League Club of Brooklyn yearbooks, 1890-1912, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
