The Allegheny HYP Club (Harvard-Yale-Princeton Club) is a private social club in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania founded on November 7, 1930. It is located at 617-619 William Penn Place, in a building that was built in 1894 and added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 2002.
On July 1, 1997, the club absorbed the Pittsburgh Club membership and assets and in 2002 merged with the Allegheny Club in 2002 after the Allegheny had filed for bankruptcy protection.
The club operates from IRS ruling year 1945 under 501(c)(7) Social and Recreation Clubs; in 2023 it claimed total revenue of $284,187, total expenses of $416,110, and total assets of $152,596. Allegheny HYP Club Preservation Inc. was founded in 2013 as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. In 2014 it claimed total revenue of $3,647 and total assets of $6,420.
Architecture The clubhouse itself now occupies the right half of a building built in 1893, originally as a tenement hall for laborers in Downtown Pittsburgh. In 1930, the club purchased the building, and over the next few years, it was remodeled by Edward Brown Lee Sr., who studied at Harvard University and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Lee is also known for his work designing the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce Building, the Edgewood Club, and many of the buildings on the campus of Thiel College.
One first enters the clubhouse through the courtyard, where one passes historical plaques about the clubhouse, outdoor tables and chairs, and the iconic archway and "HYP" lamp. The columns at the end of the courtyard are from the old Appleton Chapel on Harvard's campus (demolished 1931), and the Graystone which paves the courtyard was gifted by Thomas Watson, Yale alumnus and early president of the HYP Club in 1935.
The first-floor foyer and lounge are furnished with countless artifacts and memorabilia from the 3 respective schools. On the back wall of the lounge, framed Ivy League football rosters ranging from the 1930's-1970's are on display, which all note which college out of the three (Harvard, Yale or Princeton) won the conference league that year. The original wood bar top is engraved with a Latin toast from 1693 that reads: "There are five reasons why men drink – good wine, a friend, because I’m dry or lest I should be by-and-by, or any other reason why". The circular backbar is fashioned to resemble the side of a wine barrel & frequently features some of the most in-demand and sought after bourbons, scotches, and spirits.
Up the stairwell from the Lounge is the second floor Dining Room, which is outfitted in now-extinct knotty pine polished planks. Painted upon the walls are the names of past club presidents, club founders, members of the Constitutional Convention and Declaration of Independence, and other notable Ivy League alumni. The Dining Room features a full service, industrial kitchen & a beautiful main display of Wedgwood china that commemorates each university in H-Y-P.
The third floor is houses two important rooms: the club Library & the "Board Room" Cigar Lounge. The Library contains hundreds of rare books, including an original copy of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, handwritten journals from Helen Keller, a Princeton notebook from a student of then-professor Woodrow Wilson, and past attendance books signed by J. Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein, when they visited the clubhouse to attend a conference on atomic energy in the 1950's. The "Board Room" Cigar Lounge is across the hallway and is colloquially known as the "Pittsburgh Room", as the walls are decorated with memorabilia from the days of the Pittsburgh Club (1897-1997). The cigar lounge is also host to a piano, television, and telecom system with the bar on the first floor.
Leadership In 2024, the club elected Christopher Profeta as its president. His tenure has focused on reviving the club's civic relevance by expanding public-facing programming, introducing monthly "First Friday" events, and forging partnerships with regional nonprofits and cultural institutions in Pittsburgh.
Reciprocity The club maintains reciprocal privileges with over 70 clubs domestic and abroad, including the Marines' Memorial of San Francisco, the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, the Union League Club of Chicago, the Fort Schuyler Club, and the City University Club in London. Among the reciprocal privileges are dining, golf, sport, and overnight opportunities.
Programming The "HYP Club" is host to a wide variety of programming and events for the Greater Pittsburgh area. The Pittsburgh Business Club hosts monthly lectures and networking events that have attracted local leaders and speakers in the fields of finance, robotics, real estate and marketing. The club also hosts the monthly AHYP History Series, where guest experts provide presentations, education, and Q+A on different aspects of local Pittsburgh history; some of the most popular installments in this on-going series have covered the likes of Kennywood, Andy Warhol, Charles "Teenie" Harris, Roberto Clemente, and the now-closed Kaufmann's flagship department store.
A classic HYP tradition is the monthly "Stammtisch" luncheon & Member's Dinner, which each serve as wonderful get-togethers for the membership base to bond and catch-up over dynamic and hearty dishes. At these meals, there are 3 colors of napkin available (red, blue, and orange) for each guest; according to club tradition, a Harvard alum would receive a crimson napkin, a Yale alum a blue napkin, and a Princeton alum an orange napkin. Members from universities outside of "H", "Y", or "P" typically choose their napkin color to align closest to their college's color - for instance, the members from the University of Pittsburgh typically choose a blue napkin, since that it closest to Pitt's color scheme.
Other initiatives the club hosts includes wine tastings, jazz concerts, art shows, cooking classes, improv comedy, and dinner theatre. Club members have the ability to reserve the Library, Dining Room, Cigar Lounge, or 1st-floor Lounge for their own hosting or programming needs, as well.
See also List of American gentlemen's clubs Duquesne Club Economic Club of Pittsburgh Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce
References
External links Official Site