National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_5

There are some places you step into and you’re instantly whisked into a bygone time. The National Arts Club in Gramercy Park is one of those, and it’s not surprising that it’s been used as a film location for Boardwalk Empire. Located next to the similarly stately The Players Club, The National Arts Club is housed in the former Samuel Tilden Mansion.

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_8

Tilden was the 25th Governor of New York and had access to the best architects and designers of the era. He hired names like Calvert Vaux, of Central Park fame, and John LaFarge to transform and combine two simpler brownstones into the more opulent place you see today. Vaux took the original facade, reclad it in sandstone and added bay windows and floral ornamentation. LaFarge added stained glass windows inside and Donald McDonald created an impressive stained glass dome. The building is both a city and federal landmark.

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_1

In 1906, the National Arts Club moved into the Tilden Mansion from its original 34th Street location when a larger premises was necessary. The club counts three Presidents–Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Dwight D. Eisenhower–in addition to the numerous painters, sculptors and architects that have formed its ranks.

The mission of the National Arts Club is to “stimulate, foster and promote public interest in the arts and educate the American people in the fine arts.” These days the club serves multiple functions for members and non-members. There are two galleries for rotating exhibitions, a dining hall with a great prix fix lunch menu and dinner, a bar, and multiple lounge areas. There are numerous subcommittees dedicated to various fields of art, including architecture, film, culinary, fashion, theater arts, literary, music and archaeology. There’s even a French committee called “Le Cocktail Français.”

The club was fully decked out for the holidays when we visited yesterday. Scroll down for a little photographic tour!

The grand staircase:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_11

The dining room:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_6

The second floor art gallery:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_10

Part of the lower gallery:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_16

The firm of Ellin and Kitson created the fireplaces, bookcases and doors in the mansion:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_17-001

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_12-001

We couldn’t resist taking a photo of the old-fashioned bathroom doors:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_18

A former phone booth still says “TELEPHONE” on the sign but has been converted into a storage closet:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_19

One of the LaFarge stained glass pieces:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC_14

View towards the street from the main dining room:

National Arts Club-Gramercy Park-Samuel Tilden Mansion-NYC

Check out the interiors of other Gilded Age clubs in New York City like the Salmagundi Club, The Players Club, The Metropolitan Club and The Yale Club. Get in touch with the author @untappedmich