The Twentieth Century Club is dedicated to the purpose of creating an organized center for women's work, thought and action. The goal is to provide women with a center for intellectual pursuits and the promotion of science, literature and art.
The Club was founded in 1894 by Julia Harding. During a visit to Philadelphia that year, Miss Harding enjoyed visiting the New Century Club, a women's organization where members gave lectures instead of using outside speakers. When she returned to Pittsburgh, Miss Harding met with Ann M. Phillips, Kate Cassatt McKnight and Mrs. William R. Thompson to rally local support for a similar organization. After the group sent out invitations, the overwhelming response led to the formation of The Twentieth Century Club.
A uniquely Pittsburgh institution, The Twentieth Century Club occupies a distinguished position in the rich cultural history of Pittsburgh. Its motto “non nobis solum, sed toti mundo - not for ourselves but for the whole world,” reflects its continuing commitment to women's intellectual and social well being and service. In that tradition, during World War I, the Club served as a chapter of the Red Cross and members sold war bonds.
In the beginning, the Club rented space in downtown Pittsburgh. Then in 1910, members purchased land at 4201 Bigelow Boulevard in Oakland and erected the first phase of their Club, a brick and terra cotta building designed by local architect George H. Schwan.
Twenty years later in 1930, Benno Janssen, an eclectic architect well versed in the academic styles in Pittsburgh and a principal in the foremost architectural firm in the city, Janssen and Cocken, was hired to redesign the Club to include an addition which would double its size.
A new limestone façade enveloped the original building and the new expansion, reflecting the architectural style of the sixteenth century Italian Renaissance Revival, inspired by Michaelangelo's Palazzode Senatore in Rome. The interior, designed by Marion Gheen of Chicago and New York, included a Ballroom which is now one of the best examples of Art Deco design remaining in the United States today. Above the front door, the Club motto is etched into the limestone along with the carving of Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom. The Twentieth Century Club was founded in 1894 as a private women's club and has remained that way to this day. The Club continues to operate as a private women's club which has reciprocal agreements with clubs throughout the Pittsburgh area, across the country, and in London and Paris. In addition, the Club offers its membership a full slate of programs to satisfy every interest. Cultural programs include daytime and evening lectures by well-known Pittsburghers, as well as national speakers, in the literary, entertainment and civic fields; musical concerts, brunches and dinners, holiday celebrations, bridge parties and lessons as well as day and multi-day domestic and international trips.
The Club has clubs within the Club. Generally, 30 lectures a year on Monday and Sunday nights, a book discussion group, a well-stocked Library offers members a quiet haven, stock and investment club, theater appreciation (Pittsburgh Public Theater and City Theatre), the study of antiques (Questers), research of the Twentieth Century Club building, its members, furniture and accessories and tours of the Club (Archives), the Needle Works and the monthly birthday table to celebrate member's birthdays.
Small dining rooms are available for private parties and meetings.
The Many of today's Club members have active careers in Pittsburgh's legal, financial, academic and museum circles, but still find time to participate in and contribute to Club activities and its long history of promoting women. Other members are active in civic and community affairs. Membership is by referral by a current club member. However, women interested in becoming a member can be introduced to a member for a referral.
ideals around which The Twentieth Century Club was founded continue to this day. Its Monday morning lecture series is the core around which other activities and classes revolve - a book discussion group, a stock and investment club, theater appreciation groups, concerts, bridge parties and lessons, and a wide variety of day and multi-day domestic and international trips centered on art, literature and music.
