Located near President Brody's house, beside the pond and small grassy area behind Gilman Hall is the Johns Hopkins Club, a little-known asset to the University. It serves the Johns Hopkins Community as both a dining and banqueting facility; it is also a place for students, faculty and staff to interact.
The Club was started over 100 years ago when historian Herbert Adams urged the creation of a new social club at an alumni meeting. There was a large amount of interest in the idea, which resulted in the official organization of the Johns Hopkins Club in December 1899, with 260 charter members. Under the presidency of Dr. Joseph Sweetman Ames, a physics professor, the club opened on January 27, 1900; in 1936, thanks to a memorial fund given by the Marburgs, the Club came to its present location. The Club is a member of the Association of College and University Clubs (ACUC), which is a global network of campus-affiliated private clubs. This allows Hopkins Club members to visit and dine at other College and University Clubs around the world.
Today the Hopkins Club is home to over 4,000 members: alumni, faculty, post doctoral fellows and graduate students and administrative staff. One hundred of these members are students who have a family membership under their parents' name which allows them to use their parents' account to attend the Club during their undergraduate years.
"Parents get these family memberships so that they can have some peace of mind knowing that their son/daughter can get something hot to eat at the Club. ?We at the Club love the students because they are our future," said Cem Baraz, the Club manager.
Upon their graduation, students can either assume their parents' membership or instate a new one for their use as a Junior Member. But the majority of Club members are in their middle 60s, and they come regularly to the club for the intangibles and the social atmosphere.
"Because of our strong alumni base in Baltimore and the resulting demand, the Club is open seven days a week, as opposed to the Monday through Friday hours of most College and University Clubs. ?We serve over 7,500 meals a year," said Mr. Baraz. He continued, "Our members come for the fond memories they had of their time here at Hopkins and the friends they have kept up with over the years. They also enjoy showing their families to the long-standing staff members who have a combined total of 500 hours of service."
The Club has two dining centers: the Main Dining Room and the Tap Room. The Main Dining Room is an elegant dining facility open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and for dinner and the Club's famous brunch on Sundays. The Tap Room is a casual place to eat lunch or dinner on the weekdays. Desserts for both dining rooms are appropriately named "The Hopkins Towering Cheesecake," "The Hopkins Sunday," and "The Homewood Classic." The Lounge, which includes a fireplace that is lit in the winter months, is a popular spot during the day.
"The Lounge is frequently a place for alumni to meet for cards in the afternoon or for faculty to chat over coffee" says Mr. Baraz.
The Club also has superb banqueting facilities (including a room dedicated to the late President Eisenhower), which serve from six to 150 people. Most of the events are anniversary parties, birthdays and receptions. Two recent events were the Woodrow Wilson reception for recipients of this research fellowship and the party for Professor Riccardo Giacconi, the recent Nobel Prize laureate. The smaller rooms are frequently used by Facility and staff who come for department meetings.
The Club hosts approximately 50 events per year for members and guests. These range from Breakfast with Santa and Halloween Family Dinner Night to crab feasts, Trips to the Walters, and theater nights. Every Tuesday and Wednesday evening the Tap Room hosts a Fried Chicken Country Buffet. Thursday is Italian night in the Main Dining Room and on Fridays a guitar player comes to the Tap room to play for the guests. In addition, faculty, staff and club members volunteer their time to give informative lectures at the Club throughout the year.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.