Literary Club of Cincinnati | |
Nrhp Type: | cp |
Nocat: | yes |
Partof: | Lytle Park Historic District |
Partof Refnum: | 83001985 |
Location: | 500 E. Fourth St., Cincinnati, Ohio |
Coordinates: | 39.1014°N -84.5047°W |
Built: | 1820 |
Architecture: | Greek Revival |
The Literary Club of Cincinnati is located at 500 East Fourth Street, across from Lytle Park in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The club occupies a two-story Greek Revival house which was built in 1820, on the site of the home of William Sargent, secretary of the Northwest Territory. The Club was founded in 1849; its membership is limited to 100 men.[1]
The club was founded by woman's rights activist and abolitionist John Celivergos Zachos, Stanley Matthews (judge), Ainsworth Rand Spofford librarian of congress and 9 others. One year later President Rutherford B. Hayes became a member. Other prominent members included President William Howard Taft and notable club guests Ralph Waldo Emerson, Booker T. Washington, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde and Robert Frost.[2]
Today, the clubhouse is a contributing property to the Lytle Park Historic District,[3] a historic district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Among the important roles of the Literary Club is that of historian, who delivers an annual paper on a topic of his choosing that deals with the history of the club. The long-time historian was John A. Diehl, who was elected a member of the club in 1965. After his more than two decades in the post, the club published a book of his papers as historian. The current historian is Robert Vitz.