The result is a building uniquely late nineteenth century
American, emphasized by the Native American theme in
the ornamentation. Where else would one find a Venetian
palazzo with Gothic tracery, Victorian stained glass,
and columns with Native American faces as capitals? It’s
all wonderfully unique and beautiful.
Kimball put elaborate windows and ornamentation on
three sides of the building. He left the north side of the
building relatively free, expecting the club to expand in
the future with an addition. The remaining three sides
are a study in light and the use of contrasting solids and
voids. The Gothic tracery, the stained glass, the loggias
and oriel window bays, plus the pale red brick building
itself, all add up to one of Brooklyn’s most beautiful
buildings.
The groundbreaking for the Montauk Club took place on
October 2, 1889. The club opened for business in 1891. A
terra-cotta frieze depicting the laying of the cornerstone
(with the wrong date) greets visitors on Eighth Avenue.
Controversy abounded when it was revealed, as no one
thought the images were very flattering, especially
those who were depicted. But despite complaints, the
frieze remained.
CLUBBING AT THE MONTAUK
Although many of the Club’s members lived in Park
Slope, the Montauk Club attracted wealthy members
from all over Brooklyn. They included the city’s mayors
and borough presidents, wealthy inventors and industrialists,
lawyers, judges, bankers and politicians. Charles
Pratt was one of them, which didn’t hurt Kimball’s
chances of winning the competition. Many of these
men belonged to other clubs, but the Montauk was the
most prestigious.
For a club catering to bigwigs and large egos, the Montauk
also was quite progressive. Women could not be
members, but wives were given their own dining room
upstairs. Kimball designed a ladies’ entrance to the left
of the main entrance on Eighth Avenue. The ladies went
up a separate staircase to their own elegant rooms, never
interacting with men.
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