The plans were finally passed, and ground purchased for a sum of $5,000, while the building to be erected was to cost $20,000. On the first night the amount subscribed was $6,000, and thus assured of the success of the venture the various committees perfected their work, and on Thanksgiving Day, 1886, the building was finished. Then the question arose how the completed building was to be furnished. The solution of the problem proved easier than might have been expected. The ladies came graciously to the rescue. A fair was organized to raise the necessary funds, and the good work which had been done during the months of preparation was apparent when, after the close of the fair, which was open for ten days, the sum of $8,000 in cash remained as a monument to its success.
The new club-house stands at the corner of Crescent and Clinton Avenues—almost the highest portion of “The Heights”—upon the brow of the hill. The site is superb, commanding from the eastern windows and tower a magnificent view of New York harbor and the surrounding country. The style of architecture is modern Queen Anne. The basement and first and second stories are of undressed brown-stone, and the upper stories wood, with a slate roof. The tower forms a notable feature; a roomy piazza on one side of the house and a large porch are popular parts of the house in summer. The entrance is very spacious, and opens into a large vestibule, and this again leads to a wide hall running through to the billiard-room.
In the basement are the bowling-alleys, six in number, fitted with all the latest improvements, and built by the best makers in the costliest style. In fact, so well is their construction carried out, that the claim that they are among the best of their kind in America is fully justified. The active use to which they are put every night vouches for the interest displayed in the pastime by the members. On the left of the bowling-alleys is the wheelroom, which affords storage for a large number of wheels, and gives easy egress to the street through the side-doors.
PUTTING THE SHOT.
On the first floor, the offices and the card-room are on one side of the hall, and on the other the parlor and the library. The last now contains some three hundred volumes of standard books, and additions are constantly being made; in addition, a large supply of monthly and weekly periodicals is taken. A large open grate is a feature of this room; the furnishings are throughout easy and luxurious, while its situation, being in the base of the tower, allows the light to enter from three sides, rendering it most comfortable and suitable for its purpose. The entire wing is occupied by the billiard-room, which contains four billiard and two pool tables. The room is lighted directly from three sides and indirectly from the fourth, and therefore has the best facilities for lovers of the game to display their skill with the cue. Off this room are coat-rooms, etc., and a complete barber’s shop.
THE RUNNING BROAD JUMP—LANDING.
On the next floor is the gymnasium, which is one of the finest in the country. From the floor, which measures eighty by fifty feet, there is a space of forty feet to the peak of the roof. Every kind of apparatus that has been invented for exercise and to further muscular development is represented, while the lofty rafters make the swinging rings, climbing ropes and poles a notable feature. Off the gymnasium and in the wing are the spacious locker-rooms and baths. Around three sides runs a spacious gallery, and on the mezzanine floor is situated the large music-room, at the back of the gallery, and looking out on the gymnasium. On the fourth side is the stage—while the gymnasium itself makes a splendid auditorium. It is used on the occasion of club performances, and having a seating capacity of 800, with the large gallery and music-room as a foyer, it makes an ideal amateur theatre; and again, when the annual receptions are held, it makes a capital ball-room—all the apparatus being removable. The stage itself is replete with every convenience—handsome drop-curtain, scenery, etc.—and there is a fine wardrobe of costumes. The method of construction permits the wings to be run out when occasion demands, and while not in use the stage is lifted back against the wall, and the proscenium shuts up flat against the stage, much like the closing of an accordion, so giving the entire floor except a few feet for other purposes.