Woman's Club of Palo Alto

Woman's Club of Palo Alto (founded 1894, and active to present day) is a civic, cultural, philanthropic and social club, initially founded on June 20, 1894 by 24 women in Palo Alto, California.[1][2] The building that currently houses the club is historical and built in 1916 in a Tudor-Craftsman style, and is located at 475 Homer Avenue in Palo Alto.[1] The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.[1][3]

Woman's Club of Palo Alto
Front of the Woman's Club of Palo Alto (WCPA)
Woman's Club of Palo Alto
Woman's Club of Palo Alto
Woman's Club of Palo Alto
LocationPalo Alto, California
Coordinates37°44′54.2″N 122°09′21″W
Built1916
Architectural styleTudor Craftsmen
NRHP reference No.14001114
Added to NRHP2014

Club history

The Woman's Club of Palo Alto was initially founded on June 20, 1894 by 24 women who gathered at a Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto, California.[2] The first president was Mary Grafton Campbell, a doctor.[2] Early members of the club included Anna Zschokke, a figure in the establishment of the Palo Alto Unified School District; Lydia Mitchell, she co-founded the Palo Alto Red Cross; and Julia Gilbert, a figure in the establishment of the Palo Alto libraries.[1][2]

In 1898, the club formed a circulating library and donated over 2,000 books, which four years later led to the first public library in Palo Alto.[2] In 1911, the club worked for California women's suffrage movement.[1] From 1916 until 1929, the club members were involved in local and national issues concerning World War I, universal suffrage, and women in politics.[1]

The club has hosted many speaking events including suffragist Hester Ann Harland,[4] lectures by Stanford University professors,[5] among others. In 2018, many female engineers and university students met at the club to discuss cryptocurrencies and the club served as a safe space for women in technology to meet.[6]

Architectural history

Club members raised money to buy a lot on Homer Avenue, and it took a decade to raise the remaining money for the building construction.[1] The total cost of the new club building was $10,590.[1]

Charles Edward Hodges (1864–1944) was the architect of the building.[2] The style of the building is a Tudor Craftsman design.[2] The exterior features are Craftsman with a porte-cochere doorway, heavy beams, stucco finish with a painted wood wainscoting band of lap siding at the base of the structure.[2] The Tudor design elements include the one and a half story gable, a half timbered frame and a steeply pitched roof. The interior features a Ballroom with maple flooring and fir board and batten siding on three of the walls, and a stage with an Olio drop front curtain.[2] There is a separate Fireside Room with salt glazed tiles from 1910 made by the Steiger Terracotta and Pottery Company of South San Francisco.[2]

See also

References
  1. Medina, Anna (June 11, 2016). "Woman's Club of Palo Alto celebrates a centennial milestone". PaloAltoOnline.com. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  2. Feuer, Margaret (April 12, 2013). "The Palo Alto Woman's Club". Past Heritage. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  3. "Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 3". www.govinfo.gov. January 6, 2015. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
  4. "The Afro-American Vote, The Women Suffragists Received a Pledge of Colored Support". Newspapers.com. The San Francisco Call. 8 December 1895. p. Page 7. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  5. "New About the Women's Clubs". Newspapers.com. Oakland Tribune. October 19, 1901. p. Page 9. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  6. Bowles, Nellie (2018-02-25). "Women in Cryptocurrencies Push Back Against 'Blockchain Bros'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
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