Jump to content

Owl Club (Harvard)

Coordinates: 42°22′17″N 71°07′07″W / 42.3715°N 71.1187°W / 42.3715; -71.1187
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Owl Club
Owl Club badge
FoundedMarch 20, 1896; 128 years ago (1896-03-20)
Harvard University
TypeHonor society
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
EmphasisSeniors
ScopeLocal
Chapters1
Members1,200+ active
Former namePhi Delta Psi Club
Headquarters30 Holyoke Street
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
United States

The Owl Club is an all-male final club at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. It was founded in 1896.

History

[edit]

The Owl Club was founded at Harvard University on March 20, 1896 as the secret society Alpha Epsilon, Greek for Pipe and Mug.[1] Its founders were Dudley Hall Bradlee Jr., Frazier Curtis, Malcolm Scollay Greenough Jr., Reginald Mansfield Johnson, Charles Clifford Payson, Preston Player, and Austen Fox Riggs.[1] In 1897, the group changed its name to Phi Delta Psi Club and was no longer a secret society.[1]

The club held meetings in Cambridge's Polo Club Alley before purchasing land to build a clubhouse on the corner of Holyoke Street and Holyoke Place in 1901.[1] The house was first occupied in 1905.

In 1916, Phi Delta Psi Club voted to change its name to Owl Club.[1]

It had initiated more than 1,200 members.[1]

Symbols

[edit]

The club become known as The Owl as an abbreviation of its Greek name, Ἀυλὸς χαὶ Ἔκπωμα.

The club's tie is black with green owls and is worn to weekly dinners and formal events.[1]

Owl Club house

Clubhouse

[edit]

In 1905, architect James Purdon of Purdon & Little drew desgined the Georgian revival style clubhouse.[1] On June 24, 1905, its cornerstone was laid. The new building was formally opened on March 24, 1906, the tenth anniversary of the Club.[1] This house at 30 Holyoke Street is the current clubhouse.

Notable members

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i The Owl Club (PDF). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Owl Club. Retrieved February 20, 2025.
  • Owl Club of Harvard College, Membership Directory, 1998, Puritan Press, New Hampshire
  • Owl Club of Harvard College: founded in 1896, Crimson Printing Co., 1966
[edit]

42°22′17″N 71°07′07″W / 42.3715°N 71.1187°W / 42.3715; -71.1187