History

H.R.H. The Prince of Wales charms the Maitre d’, March 4, 1988.

Gala Dinner in the Main Dining Room of the Duquesne Club on October 1, 1908, Great Pittsburgh Dayof the Sesquicentennial Celebration. The dinner was tendered by the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce to honor U. S. Vice-President Fairbanks, Pennsylvania Governor Stuart, and other dignitaries. Also present were two ex-governors of Pennsylvania and George W. Guthrie, mayor of Pittsburgh and a founding member of the Duquesne Club (from The Story of the Sesqui-Centennial Celebration of Pittsburgh).

The “Number 6” Group, in 1892, nineteen years after the founding of the Duquesne Club. Standing from left to right: John H. Ricketson, Augustus E. W. Painter, General Charles L. Fitzhugh, George Shiras Jr., Albert H. Childs, Henry Phipps, and Charles H. Spang; seated, left to right: Solomon Schoyer Jr., Camplbell B. Herron, B. F. Jones, John W. Chalfant, and Maxwell K. Moorhead (missing is Henry W. Oliver Jr.). Sometimes known as “The Founders of Pittsburgh,” this group of men began meeting for lunch daily in private dining room number 6 at the original, Penn Avenue Duquesne Club in the 1870s. All were founding members except for Henry Phipps. They continued to meet for lunch for more than forty years. In one of his speeches, John Ricketson jokingly referred to the historic exclusivity of his group: “Why almost every day when we are in executive session up in No. 6, from whose sacred proceedings I am going to remove the veil of secrecy for a few moments, certain gentlemen largely interested in Railway management, are fond of ‘railing’ at me for making too man rolling mills.” (Photo courtesy Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department).

John Howland Ricketson, the Duquesne Club’s first president, was thirty-six years hold when the Club was founded in 1873.

Andrew Carnegie in 1860, at age 25. Carnegie was 38 at the found of the Club (photo courtesy of Historical Pictures Service, Chicago).

Front elevation of the Duquesne Club, by Longfellow, Alden and Harlow, 1890. (American Architect and Building News)

The 1890 clubhouse. The potted palms and huge flag are additions made by an artist to a photograph of the Club (Photo courtesy Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Department).

Cherished Tradition