[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16544]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      IN RECOGNITION OF 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE METROPOLITAN CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 26, 2015

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 100th anniversary of a 
landmark in San Francisco that is beloved as an important gathering 
place for women and as a historic building. The Metropolitan Club at 
640 Sutter Street today serves over 1,000 members and countless non-
profits that use the beautiful building for meetings and events.
  The Metropolitan Club started in 1912-1914 as a vision of a group of 
Bay Area women who were determined to build an athletic club for women 
similar in size, grandeur and services to those available to men. These 
ladies were active in civic and charitable organizations and the 
preparations for the 1915 Panama Pacifica International Exposition.
  On October 25, 1915 their vision became a reality and the Women's 
Athletic Club of San Francisco was incorporated as the first women's 
athletic club west of Chicago. For a century now, the club has been a 
special place for women of all ages to pursue physical and intellectual 
fitness.
  The historic building was designed by Bliss & Faville, a prominent 
architectural firm that is responsible for landmarks such as the Bank 
of California, the Geary Theater, the Masonic Temple, Southern Pacific 
headquarters, China Basin, the Marines' Memorial Club and the 
University Club. After a major addition to the clubhouse was finished 
in 1923, the San Francisco Chronicle lauded the club as ``unlike 
anything in the United States maintained for and by women.''
  The unique character of the Metropolitan Club has made it a desirable 
place for historic events. It became the unofficial headquarters for 
visiting women journalists who covered the signing of the United 
Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945. In 1948, it was the only 
local club represented at the first Western meeting of UNESCO.
  In 2004, the Metropolitan Club received one of the most prestigious 
honors from the U.S. Department of the Interior; it was nominated to be 
listed in the National Register of Historic Places which is the 
official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. 
The Metropolitan Club was described as a ``place where the women who 
formed a club and generations of San Francisco women after them have 
met their friends, exercised, dined, played cards, celebrated holidays, 
attended lectures, entertained others and engaged in all the activities 
of the club.'' The same year, the 640 Heritage Preservation Foundation 
was created as a 502(c)3 with the mission to preserve the club's 
historic building and important heritage.
  Major seismic and life-saving renovations were completed in 2009 to 
prepare the club for its second century as the ``House that Women 
Built.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that the House of Representatives join me in 
saying happy 100th birthday to the Metropolitan Club which has touched 
the lives of countless San Francisco families and helped shape the 
history of our beautiful city by the bay.

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