From elite social clubs to personal atonement: The history of the formation of Consolation House.

Private and elite clubs were vehicles of socialization and business transaction during the Gilded Age.  Clubs were often restricted in membership and members were highly scrutinized before being offered the opportunity to join. The Tavern Club in Boston is one example of an elite social club.  It was established in 1884 and was a gathering place where the members were focused on fine dining, lectures, and the arts.  Notable members included Charles Eliot Norton, William Dean Howells, and Henry Cabot Lodge.  Herndon (1892) described the club as "an organization of good fellows, mostly artists, musicians, and lawyers, who breakfast and dine together with more or less regularity in their snug and artistically fashioned club-house on Boylston Place, just off the busy thoroughfare of Boylston Street by the Commons."  The entrance dues in 1892 was a $50.00 fee.  The approximate 'economic status' of that amount in 2015 terms is $11,100.00, which provides some current-day comparison to understand the social prominence associated with the Tavern Club.Hornblower (2000) provides additional perspective on the nature and function of Boston social clubs, including the Tavern Club.  He reports in tongue in cheek fashion"The Tavern (1884) is said to be so exclusive that the man who proposed forming the club, a teacher of Italian descent, was denied admission. Sort of... The club was founded to promote “literature, drama and the arts.” Today it mo...
Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog - Category: Occupational Health Tags: Barton history Source Type: blogs