December 15, 1890- 19 women met in a 3 rd floor front room of 76 Marlborough St. and decided to form a club “for sociability and companionship” for college women “among their kind.”

The Club has its own programs, social events and lectures. From its earliest days, the College Club paraded a host of celebrities from literature and the arts. Mark Twain was a guest; so were actress Julia Marlowe, feminist Lucy Stone, poet Oliver Wendell Holmes (who recited “The Chambered Nautilus”), and novelist Marian Crawford, who drew such a crowd in the 1890s that for years the club entertainments were dubbed the “Crawford Crush.” As described by Miss Alice Browne in 1915, “No member confessed to inviting more guests than the number allowed her, but the house was full on every floor. At least twenty guests found their way to the kitchen. Perhaps they were trying to escape. President Walker, of [MIT], seeing Professor Niles on the stairs above him on the way to the coat room, is said to have offered him five dollars to throw his hat out of the window and save him the struggle.”

The College Club in 1905 had an Old English drawing room and seven “sleeping rooms” (the delicate term for “bedrooms”). These rooms were furnished and decorated in the colors of various women’s colleges: crimson rambler wallpaper for Radcliffe, blue silk curtains for Wellesley, a cherry and white scheme for Boston University, white (with brass beds) for Smith, dawn pink and gray for Vassar.

In the early years of the Club, membership dues were just $12/year for residents and $6/year for non-residents.

In 1925 the College Club purchased 44 Commonwealth Ave for $50,000 from Phyllis Robbins. It is interesting to note that Miss Robbins entertained Maude Adams when she played Peter Pan in Boston.

The Club Circular in 1896 stated “Provision has been made whereby the maid in attendance may make tea for the members and their friends, at five cents a cup, from 3 to 5:45 P.M. Any member desiring to entertain more than six persons at one time should notify Mrs. King two days in advance.”

In a speech about the first 25 years of the Club given by Miss Alice Browne in 1915, she states “…let me impress upon you the declared purpose of the Club, as expressed by its founder and agreed to by the charter members on the date of the first meeting, December 15, 1890: There were to be no constitution and no aim worthy of the name, no officers, no duties- just a place to loaf and invite our souls and the souls of others we wanted to know.”

In 2001,the Club’s purpose was redefined: “The College Club is a women’s membership organization. It offers its members the opportunity to share interests with each other through programs and other activities. In addition, it offers the opportunity to support educational philanthropy through the College Club Scholarship Fund, Inc. Housed in a historic brownstone, The College Club offers a warm and traditional gathering place for members and non-members.”