Owl Club (Harvard)

Owl Club
Owl Club badge
Founded1896; 128 years ago (1896)
Harvard University
TypeHonor society
AffiliationIndependent
StatusActive
EmphasisSeniors
ScopeLocal
Chapters1
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

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The Owl Club was founded in 1896 as the secret society Phi Delta Psi Club. Its founders were:

  • Dudley Hall Bradlee Jr.
  • Frazier Curtis
  • Malcolm Scollay Greenough Jr.
  • Reginald Mansfield Johnson
  • Charles Clifford Payson
  • Preston Player
  • Austen Fox Riggs

The club held its 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. The house was first occupied in 1905.

In 1916, Phi Delta Psi Club voted to officially change its name to Owl Club. The club had become known as The Owl as an abbreviation of its Greek name, Ἀυλὸς χαὶ Ἔκπωμα.

Owl Club house

Clubhouse

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In 1905, architect James Purdon of Purdon & Little drew up plans for the Georgian clubhouse. O June 24, 1905, its cornerstone was laid. The new building was formally opened on March 24, 1906, the tenth anniversary of the Club. This house at 30 Holyoke Street is the current clubhouse.

Notable members

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See also

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References

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  • Owl Club of Harvard College, Membership Directory, 1998, Puritan Press, New Hampshire
  • Owl Club of Harvard College: founded in 1896, Crimson Printing Co., 1966
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42°22′17″N 71°07′07″W / 42.3715°N 71.1187°W / 42.3715; -71.1187