10
THE COURIER
and said. "There will be seventy-four cove lights, six clusters and
twelve brackets for gas." A vision rose of a scene when these six
clusters, twelve brackets and seventy-four cove lights would send
their steady white glow upon the banquet table where the silver ser
vice would shine and the wines sparkle. One thought of the toasts
and the responses which shall be giveD and the wit that will have'
birth within those walls.
The basement will have every amusement that can divert the
mind of man. Across the south front is the billiard room, 25 by GO
feet. The room is well lighted and has an elegant mantel and grate
On the east are two large card rooms. Like the billiard room their
floors are to be of marble. On the west, some feet below the level of
the others, is the bowling alley. It is 80 feet long and has two beds
for balls. The bar room is rather small. The cold storage, wine
cellars and the engine room occupy the rear of the basement.
The glory of the first floor will be the main hall. From it the
grand stair-case starts, a massive structure of quarter sawed oak,
and it makes its way with large landings to the second and third
floors and then to the roof garden overlooking the city. For some
years to come there will be no passenger elevator and all members
and their guests will be compelled to bo in a condition to walk up
stairs. Midway between the first and second floors will be a large
landing lighted with a bow window of stained glass.
It will be provided with seats and can be an ideal gossiping place
if the men are so inclined. Below the landing will bo a small recess
with teats for the pages. The fireplace, mantel and grate will be a
work of art The mantel will be of onyx with old copper metal and
candelabra. The fireplace is a large recess, curtained off with
heavy silk draperies and provided with tufted leather upholstered
seats. On each side are pedestals for statutes. The hall will be
provided with seats, and will, most probably, be the grand lounging
place. Off this hall are the gentlemb n's cafe and the parlors. Tho
ladies' cafe is entered from the Twentieth street entrance and gentle
men without ladies are debarred from it. The ladies have cloak
rooms, toilet rooms and a small reception room. The rear of tho
floor is occupied by the kitchen and the cold storage rooms. The
The food, as cooked, is sent by elevator to the steaming and serving
rooms on the second floor.
On the second floor are four private dining rooms, the library and
the main dining room. On the west the three dining rooms can be
opened into one by large sliding doors. The sleeping apartments
are on the third floor. There are ten of these all provided with
closets and baths. The loggia opening off these rooms will be the
delight of the bachelors' summer evenings. It is on the east and
overlooks most of the city of Omaha and across the river to the high
bluffs of Iowa. To the rear the servants have their quarters.
Into the woodwork of the building quarter sawed oak will enter
chiefly, but cypress and ash and birdseye maple will break the
monotony.
In the sleeping apartments the casings will be of hard pine paint
ed white and the two sideboards in the main dining hall will be of
cherry. In the ladies' rooms the hardware will be antique silver,
the rest of the first and all the second floor will have old copper.
The upper floor and service rooms will have Bower-Borff. Great
sense and judgment have been shown in the selection of the upholster
ing and draperie3. None of the prevailing fads have been noticed.
AH the upholstering will be of leather except in the ladies' rooms
and the parlor. The floor coverings will be Moquette, Wilton and
Brussels carpets in many of the apartments they will be made into
rugs to fit the rooms. On the first floor the curtains will be full
length of antique lace with heavy silk hangings. On the upper
floors will be sash curt&ins and copper rods.
Regarding the table service the club's object is to purchase Ameri
cau goods. It is already in possession of an elaborate silver service
for ono hundred persons. All the service will bear the monogram of
the club. One article of furniture calls for special mention. It is
a table made from an elm tree grown on tho ground where the club
house stands.
The club will have a complete corps of servants. The livery will
will be green with brass buttons. The employes will include one
steward, two cooks and three assistants, two in the laundry, ten
colored waiters, one porter, two pages, two chambermaids and two
clerks.
The electric furnishings of the house are the most modern and
perfect and the total amount of wire used is five miles.' The archi
tect k an Omaha man, Chas. E. Beindorf.
The sleeping apartments will rent for from $30 to WO per month, and
-the cost of making the club house a homa is estimated to average
about $1500 per year. The total cost of tho new-house including
tho furniture is $100,000. Of this $50,000 was raised by contributions
from members and the other $50,000 the club borrowed. Aside from
this liability there is no debt. The members are divided into four
classes: resident members, non-resident members (outside of Doug
las county), honorary members and U. S. Army members. For resi
dent members the initiation feo $100 and the yearly dues $G0. For
non-resident members the fee is $50 and tho yearly dues $30. Officers
of the army pay a fee of $25 which is returned to them upon their
resignation; their yearly dues are the same as resident members.
The business management of the club is vested in a board of nine
directors and a house committee of three. The present officers are:
Thomas Swobe, president; W. V. Morse, vice-president; Frank
Murphy, treasurer; D. J. O'Donahoe, secretary.
The total membership of the club is three hundred, and, among
these, are many of the leading men of the state. There is ono honor
ary member, Bishop Worthington. The history of the Omaha club
is rather devoid of romance and dates back a little over ten years
ago when some society young men, among them Luther Drake, Dick
Berlin, Robert W. Patrick, John Wilber and Al Patrick allied them
selves and rented rooms in the Ware building. From the first, it
was a success, and about five years ago there was a union with the
Union club and the new club took up the present quarters, the
fourth floor of the U. S. National bank building. Of the ex presi
dents of the lub none was more favorably and kindly known than
the late Judge Savage. The members take special pride in speaking
of him who was once one of their number. Henry W. Yates sat in
the president's chair for three years, Guy C. Barton for two, end L.
M. Bennett, W. V. Morse and R. W. Patrick each for one year.
Among the well-known names that death has taken from the roll
are Gen. George Crook. Chas Shiverick, Clark Woodman and
31. C. Hamilton. The death of of a new member, Will C.
Wakely, lately cast a gloom over the club.
This club does not seem to be such a very wicked place
A man dare not play poker in the rooms, and gambling is
a sin the members presumably know nothing about. The
club does not seem to keep fathers and husbands from home in the
evenings. The attendance then is very light and confined
chiefly to bachelors. The principal thing is the noon luncheon.
Billiards and cards are then enjoyed as long as tho members
and their guests have time. At the card tables high five and
hearts are the favorites. About three-fourths of the members
are billiard players. The club is an ideal place for a member
to take his guest, especially when the latter is a non-resident.
In these cases cards are issued entitling him to all the privi
leges of the club for a stated time. Before "hard times," the
ladies were given a yearly reception, and this custom will be
continued in the new house.
The nucleus of many an enterprise has been formed in the
rooms of the club. It was there the mining and irrigation in
terests of Sheridan, Wyoming, were first talked of, and later on
assumed practical shape. The club has always kept free of pol
itics and always intends to be- nothing more than social in its
nature. At times it has given banquets to political leaders.
When the national populist convention met in Omaha, the lead
ers were tendered a banquet by the club. Just before they
came o the rooms they froze the blood of their entertainers
by their silhouette-like speeches, the burden of which was
that they wore no purple and fine linen and drank no champagne.
They went to the club rooms. "Well," a member said, "Don
nelly sat next to me, Ignatius Donnelly, I mean and I tried to
keep up with him the last I remember I was full and Don
nelly, sober, was still drinking. With one exception they out
drank us, and they did not show it either."
One of the great magnets of the rooms seems to be John
M. Thurston. There he has many satelites. The talk of A. B.
Smith is said to always draw a Crowd about him. Some of the
most active society members are Joseph and Pierre Garneau,
Frank Hamilton, Victor Caldwell and Frank Clarke.
At pool playing Mr. Buckingham, the U. P. official, is king.
At the billiard table Dan Farrell is victor, and it is whis
pered that the club has not a better card player than Luther
Drake. C. S. Raymond has a fund of funny stories which seem to
have no limit, and the toasts of Editor Hitchcock are as fam
ous there as elsewhere. The sweet singer seems to be Col. C.
S. Sharpe, and many say the all around favorite is Pierre Gar
neau, and D. J. O'Donahoe is "the nicest man in the world."
4
