Step inside the super-exclusive New York Yacht Club where the America’s Cup race began – complete with a 25-foot fireplace, an original Tiffany glass ceiling and a $150,000 entry fee

The 25 ton stone fireplace in the super exclusive New York Yacht Club is certainly a sight to behold and I felt dwarfed by the structure as I stood close to the flame-slicked hearth.

This design marvel was just one of many breathtaking features I saw during a private tour of the members-only Midtown club, which formally opened its doors on January 19, 1901.

Tucked away from the Times Square crowd at 37 W 44th St, the six-story Beaux-Arts clubhouse was custom-built by sailor and banker John Pierpont Morgan to house the organization’s burgeoning membership fleet.

Regular maintenance keeps the building looking tip top, with standout features – along with the ‘Model Room’ fireplace – a beautiful Tiffany stained glass ceiling, a 20 by 6 meter Oriental rug and a grill room designed to look beautiful. such as the hold of an old sailing ship and a library with more than 13,000 books and antique manuscripts.

It was a Wednesday evening and the downstairs bar was buzzing with members – mostly men in smart suits – with an oyster shell handing out rounds of fresh molluscs and a waiter in suits taking drink orders.

In keeping with the maritime theme, I saw something related to sailing at every turn, with model boats lining the walls and paintings depicting scenes being swept by the waves.

As I placed my glass on the table, I noticed that even the paper napkins had a design with boats and an anchor on them, along with the club’s Latin motto ‘nos agimur tumidis velis’ – ‘we go with swelling sails.’

Other sail motifs, I noticed, are part of the building’s brick and mortar design.

For example, three spherical bay windows at the front of the building are modeled after the sterns of Dutch ships from the 16th century and there are various wood carvings on the grounds that run from the cornice to the fireplace frame with images of seaweed, shells, dolphins, lightning bolts and stars. and more.

The characterful building was designed by Whitney Warren of Warren and Wetmore, who later became the brains behind Grand Central Terminal.

In a video tour of the clubhouse uploaded to YouTubenarrator and professional sailor Gary Jobson explains that although there were several architects in the running for the project, John Pierpont Morgan preferred Warren’s “much more whimsical design.”

To help finance the construction of the city clubhouse, membership dues were increased from $25 per year to $50.

Today, according to ncesc.comRegular membership is slightly more expensive, with an initiation fee of $150,000 and annual dues of $12,000.

In addition to having a good bank balance, perspective members must be nominated by an existing member, with this nomination being supported by at least four other members.

The membership committee will then invite the nominee to submit an application along with letters of recommendation outlining their qualifications.

As for the benefits of membership, ncesc.com explains that benefits include “access to the club facilities including dining rooms, bars, meeting rooms and sailing centres.”

‘Members also have access to the club’s extensive library, archives and art collection. In addition, the club organizes numerous social events throughout the year, including regattas, dinners and receptions.’

In Jobson’s video tour, he also reveals that there are 19 ‘comfortable bedrooms for members and their guests’, which can be booked at a discounted rate.

Before visiting the club, we were warned that business attire was to be worn, with a tie, jacket and collared shirt for men, and a suit or formal dress for women.

Certainly one of the club’s standout spaces is the cavernous Model Room, which comfortably seats more than 300 people with a playing area of ​​3,800 square feet.

Together with the fireplace, the space houses 1,340 scale replicas of sailboats, displayed in large glass cases, with the earliest model dating from 1819.

One of the starships is a mini version of the ‘America’, which was responsible for the start of the America’s Cup.

On August 22, 1851, the full-size 100-foot schooner built by New York Yacht Club commodore and founder John Cox Stevens raced against 15 English yachts from Britain’s Royal Yacht Squadron in an annual race known as the ‘100 Guinea Cup ,’ which involved a lap of the Isle of Wight.

The visiting America won, finishing eight minutes ahead of its closest rival, and the trophy was renamed in his honor and donated to the New York Yacht Club.

An accompanying Deed of Gift stipulated that the Cup should be held in trust as a perpetual challenge trophy and thus the America’s Cup race was born.

Today the race takes place every four years as a two-yacht race, fought between the previous year’s winner – known as the ‘defender’ – and a challenger, who is usually the best boat from a series of run-off rounds .

Before the 44th St clubhouse was built, the New York Yacht Club had a number of outposts in the greater area.

The first clubhouse was opened a year after the club’s founding on July 15, 1845.

The club’s website states that this venue was a one-room Gothic Revival building designed by “noted” architect AJ Davis, on land owned by Commodore John Cox Stevens in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Over the next half century, the club occupied four additional clubhouses: two in Manhattan and two on Staten Island, and at one point also owned eleven “stations.”

These “stations” came in the form of smaller buildings and landings where “members and friends could meet, send a letter, or make a phone call.”

Now, in addition to the 44 St property, the club has only one other outpost, located on the water in Newport, Rhode Island.

Thanks to its striking and unique ship-like design, the exterior of the 44th St building was designated a landmark by the City of New York Landmarks Preservation Commission on September 11, 1979.

If you are unable to join a club or do not have the proper qualifications to join, the New York Yacht Club organizes public tours on the last Tuesday of each month. And having been there myself, it’s definitely worth a trip.