The Pickwick Club
Founded1857 (1857)
Location
Coordinates29°57′10.7″N 90°04′10.3″W / 29.952972°N 90.069528°W / 29.952972; -90.069528

The Pickwick Club is a private gentlemen's club in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1] [2] Founded in 1857, The Pickwick Club and the Mistick Krewe were originally one group comprising two organizations. After The Boston Club, The Pickwick Club is the second oldest remaining in the city.

History

On February 8, 1857, a group of men, some former Orleans Club members, who resided in the Anglo-American neighborhoods of New Orleans, met in the Club Room of the Gem Saloon-a former residence of William Parker of Natchez, located at Old No 17 Royal Street (127 Royal Street).[3] The idea was initially conceived at Pope's pharmacy on the corner of Jackson and Prytania. Six gentlemen (most originally from Mobile, Alabama) sent out an invitation to a select group of friends to meet at the Gem Saloon, where the first carnival organization the Miskick Krewe was organized, and in June following within its ranks The Pickwick Club for the purpose of covering the mysteries and membership of the Mistick Krewe.

The Pickwick Club New Orleans, LA The Times Picayune Wed Apr 13 1859

The Elkin Club, named after Harvey Elkin, was founded in 1832 by a group of Harvey's friends who purchased "Elkinville" after Mr. Elkin encountered financial difficulty, these men included John Slidell, John Randolph Grymes, and Glendy Burke; and was the first official private social club in New Orleans. An open club, members could freely invite guests, it sponsored dances and balls in the vicinity of Bayou St John and closed officially in 1838, due to the financial crisis of 1837.

The Pelican Club was founded in 1843, from the remnants of The Elkin Club, and folded at the beginning of the Civil War, confined its membership through blackball policies to bankers, cotton brokers, attorneys, physicians, and political leaders; the smallest lapse in credit spelled denial of membership. It was to this club Henry Clay and Gen. Winfield Scott would retire for respite.

Younger gentlemen, who had been rejected membership to the Pelican Club, organized The Orleans Club in 1851 with less restrictive membership policies but similarly closed at the outset of the Civil War. A few members of this club would later found The Pickwick Club, the city's second-oldest gentleman's club, who would influence the development of modern-day Mardi Gras.[4]

The Pickwick Club Comus New Orleans The Selma Times Fri Jun 2 1882

The Pickwick, unlike the Boston Club, began as a "closed club," but evidence suggests before the turn of the 19th century the club allowed members to extend the club's hospitality to ladies and out-of-town guests during Carnival.

Pickwick Club New Orleans Dinner Menu

Notable members

Pickwick Club Carnival Pass 1899

Homes of The Pickwick Club

  • Tchoupitoulas Street just above Poydras Street, 1857 – January 1858
  • No. 57 St. Charles Street, just beyond Gravier Street, 1858–1865
  • The corner of Canal and Exchange Alley Streets, 1865–1881
  • 148 Canal Street (Today, 824 Canal Street-The Boston Club), 1881–1882
  • The corner of Canal and Carondelet Streets, 1882–1894 "Pickwick Palace"
  • Old No. 4 Carondolet, now 122, 1894–1899 (The Forstall Mansion)
  • 1030 Canal Street 1899–1934
  • Unknown 1934–1950
  • The Crescent City Billiard Hall, corner of Canal St and St Charles Ave, 1950–present[15]

See also

References

  1. "Pickwickians and Reconstruction". pbs.org. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  2. "10 Exclusive Places In New Orleans You'll Never Get Into - The Pickwick Club". Complex.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  3. "A Multifaceted Gem : Known variously through the years as the Gem Coffee House, Café, Oyster House and Saloon, its origins are shrouded in mystery" (PDF). Neworleansbar.org. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  4. New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit & Secrets of Mardi Gras, Rosary O'Neill, Arcadia Publishing, February 11, 2014.
  5. New Orleans Carnival Krewes: The History, Spirit & Secrets of Mardi Gras, Rosary O'Neill, Arcadia Publishing, February 11, 2014.
  6. "New Orleans CLUBS AND KINDRED ORGANIZATION - Historical Content".
  7. "New Orleans Carnival Balls: The Secret Side of Mardi Gras, 1870-1920". Jennifer Atkins, LSU Press, 2017.
  8. "Mardi Gras: Chronicles of the New Orleans Carnival". Errol Laborde, Pelican Publishing, 2013, p. 75.
  9. "Pickwickians and Reconstruction | American Experience | PBS". PBS.
  10. "Pickwickians and Reconstruction | American Experience | PBS". PBS.
  11. Lords of Misrule: Mardi Gras and the Politics of Race in New Orleans, James Gill, Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1997, p. 77
  12. Standard History of New Orleans, Louisiana: Giving a Description of the Natural Advantages, Natural History, Settlement, Indians, Creoles, Municipal and Military History, Mercantile and Commercial Interests, Banking, Transportation, Struggles Against High Water, the Press, Educational ..., Henry Rightor, Lewis Publishing Company, 1900
  13. Augusto P. Miceli, "The Pickwick Club of New Orleans"
  14. https://hendersonvillebest.com/notable-men-of-henderson-county-xavier-de-choiseul/
  15. New Orleans Nostalgia "Trouble, Right Here in the River City" Ned Hémard Copyright 2009
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