The Saturn Club
The Saturn Club is a private social and athletic club located on Delaware Avenue. It's a massive building, which houses some of the most stylish and elegant meeting and dining rooms in Buffalo. There is a bowling alley, squash courts, paddle tennis courts, fire lit club dining room, banquet dining rooms, swimming pool, workout center, and a prized courtyard perfect for wedding events and socials. The club is well used by the business community, in order to entertain clients, though it also doubles as an important resource for hosting friends and family.
"The Saturn Club was founded in 1885 by thirteen enthusiastic young men who felt the need to congregate in a less formal setting than the Buffalo Club, founded in 1867. They first congregated on Saturdays (thus the name) to socialize and play cards. Dues were $10 a month, and the initiation fee was a chair.
"There were a great number of private clubs springing up in the Northeast after the Civil War, and many of them were titled "University Clubs". Saturn's founders whimsically patterned their board of directors after that of a small college (a Faculty, with a Dean, Registrar, Bursar, etc.).
"Because this was a boom-town in that era, the membership quickly grew, and by 1890 totaled 200 members. From basically one-room origins, the Club now built their first real clubhouse, a large, three-story blockhouse at Delaware and Tracy, which they occupied until 1922, when, with a marching band and carrying the fire from the old fireplace to the new one, they paraded up Delaware Avenue to the site of their new (and current) building.
"While Saturn Club members have been active in all aspects of this community's life, the Club remains true to its origins. It is a social club first, offering recreation, fine dining, fitness programs, member-friendly banquet facilities and meeting rooms with high-tech support."
The architect of The Saturn Club was Duane Lyman (Bley & Lyman).
History of the club found on:
www.saturnclub.org/
Saturn Club
977 Delaware Ave
Buffalo, NY 14209-1888
(716) 884-8800
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