Philadelphia Union League

In 1862, the Union League of Philadelphia was founded as a patriotic society to support the actions of President Abraham Lincoln and the Union effort during the American Civil War. Similar clubs also sprang up in New York and Chicago. Between 1864 and 1865, the Philadelphia club built this headquarters, occupying an entire city block. Scottish-born architect John Fraser (1825-1906) designed the structure, which was build by master builder John Crum. From this facility the club executed its fundraising and troop-raising projects, eventually supplying the Union with ten thousand troops and half a million dollars.

The building exhibits the French Renaissance style with a large mansard roof, one of the earliest examples of this feature in Philadelphia. Its facades are granite, brick, and brownstone. The original building was three stories, with a dramatic front double staircase on Broad Street. Originally the Moravian Street side of the building included a four-story, twelve-foot-square tower, which was removed in 1912. Horace Trumbauer oversaw the expansion of the building in 1908, extending it west to Fifteenth Street. The expanded building includes an assembly room called Lincoln Hall, a library decorated in the French style, and a museum facility decorated with Civil War-era-style wood carving.

Several U.S. presidents have had meetings here, occasionally with their full cabinets. The club continues to exist and operate from this building. At its founding it was a men's club, but has expanded to include women and now has over 4,000 members. The National Register of Historic Places recognized the headquarters building in 1979.

Union League of Philadelphia. About: Overview, Union League of Philadelphia. Accessed January 31st 2021. https://www.unionleague.org/about.php.

Whitman, Maxwell. Union League of Philadelphia, National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form. 1979. Accessed January 30th 2021. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997352.