Delphic Club

The Delphic Club
Location 9 Linden Street Cambridge, MA
Coordinates 42°22′20.6″N 71°07′03.1″W / 42.372389°N 71.117528°W / 42.372389; -71.117528Coordinates: 42°22′20.6″N 71°07′03.1″W / 42.372389°N 71.117528°W / 42.372389; -71.117528
Built 1903
Architect James Purdon H'1895
Architectural style neo-Georgian style
Part of Harvard Square Historic District (#86003654)

The Delphic Club is an all-male Final Club at Harvard University. It was founded in 1900 when the Delta Phi fraternity decided to re-establish a fraternity at Harvard known as the Zeta Chapter (1885). The membership voted to become a Final Club in 1900 and in 1902 severed ties with the national fraternity to which it had maintained only loose ties. After its creation, there were only a few members, so the club would burn gas lights at all hours to suggest that the club was busy day and night. As a result, the club earned the nickname of "The Gas." A famous, possibly apocryphal, story has it that J.P. Morgan, Jr., class of 1889, joined The Gas when he didn’t get into his club of choice. According to The Harvard Crimson, he then financed the creation of his own club, the Delphic, from the frat.[1]

The club was initially located at 52 and 59 Brattle St. before moving to 72 Mt. Auburn St. where it was housed from 1887 to 1903. The current home of the club is at 9 Linden St., steps from Harvard Yard and a few blocks from Harvard Square. It was designed by James Purdon H'1895 in the neo-Georgian style and occupied in 1902-03. The design features the red brick and cornices typical of Harvard Yard. The interior contains numerous large common spaces and an oversize formal dining room on the 2nd floor for large events, no living quarters, and a regulation squash court.[2] In the basement is a panelled living room for entertaining visitors.

As with the other Final Clubs, the Delphic is not officially affiliated with Harvard University and is not recognized by the University. The Delphic is governed by a Trust with a Board of Directors composed of alumni. The Final Clubs all operate independently of the University since their founding following the expulsion of fraternities from the campus in the 1850s. However, whatever tenuous association there had been with Harvard was officially severed in 1984 as a consequence of the Title IX provision of the U.S. Education Amendments of 1972, which arguably would have required a sex-neutral admissions policy and result. The emergence of all-female Final Clubs since the 1990s has followed the same model, with the new clubs also operating independently of the University.[3] The break was largely symbolic as the clubs already operated independently, but they lost access to the Harvard phone exchange and the ability to buy steam heat from the University.[4]

Renovations

The clubhouse was renovated in 1974-75, which included the walls, interiors and roofs to deal with leaks and general conditions. A more comprehensive renovation was undertaken in 2013 to update the clubhouse's plumbing and electrical systems. The 2013/2014 renovations, which included updating the club's plumbing and electrical systems also revealed pooled water beneath the club's floor and back yard occasioned by the destruction of the club's drainage system during the construction of Farkas Hall (aka the Hasty Pudding Clubhouse). This has resulted in litigation between the Delphic Club and Harvard University.[5]

Name

The club was founded as the Zeta Chapter of the Delta Phi fraternity. With the opening of the new clubhouse in 1903, after the break from Delta Phi, the undergraduates began calling the club "The Gas," after the club's nickname. This was adopted as the official name in 1908 but soon thereafter was changed to "The Delphic Club" presumably after cooler heads prevailed. The name of the club is a portmanteau of "Delta Phi Club" which in turn is derived from the name of a by-then defunct fraternity at Harvard, Alpha Delta Phi and the later Delta Phi fraternity. The Alpha Delta Phi name was borrowed by three Harvard Final Clubs - the A.D. Club (Alpha Delta), the Delphic and the Fly Club(alPHa deLta phI).[2]

Insignia and Emblems

The club's emblem is three torches on a blue-green field. The slogan for the club is "Three times three, long life to thee." The club's tie(s) consist of the "Three Torches" logo on a black field in a diagonal pattern, the standard tie is sky blue and black diagonal stripes, while the club's "summer" tie is blue and white stripes on the diagonal. The club's traditions include formal, black tie dinners with alumni and undergraduates and a ban on non-members in the club aside from female guests and family on the weekends. There is no hazing or "Rush" in the sense of traditional fraternities elsewhere. Instead, the clubs recruit members through a series of invited dinners and formal dances in a process known as "The Punch."

In Literature

Tales of "The Gas House" are recounted by several authors including Delphic alum Charles Macomb Flandrau (1895) who tells many stories in his celebrated book Harvard Episodes (1897)[6] and also in Diary of A Freshman (1901).[7] In Harvard Episodes Flandrau (writing in 1897) depicts the multi-generational aspects of the club in describing an old graduate, "If they didn't actually know him, they knew of him. Even this crust is sweet to the returned graduate whose age is just far enough removed from either end of life's measure to make it intrinsically unimportant."[6] George de la Ruiz Santayana (1886) was made an honorary member in 1890 and spent a great deal of time at the Delphic as recounted in Joel Porte's (Ph.D.'62) book, Santayana at the 'Gas (1964). Santayana included the club in several works, including "The Judgement of Paris, or, How the First-ten Man Chooses a Club," which concludes with:

Whatever follows: nor, until he die
Will Paris grieve he chose the Delta Phi[8]

At the opening of the new clubhouse in 1903, Santayana wrote a dedicatory poem that ends:

And though we go, for change is Nature's plan,
To loves and labours that approve the man,
Half the soul clutches what the world can give,
And half remains where youth and friendship live.[9]

Notable Alumni

Name Class Other
Andrew Pinkerton1993Senior Investment Manager, EDC Export Development Canada
Alexander P. Biega2010Hockey Player, Charlotte Checkers (IHL)[10]
Louis F. Body1994Hockey Player, Richmond Renegade ECHL [10]
Chester C. Bolton 1905 U.S. Congressman
Samuel Bozoian2011Hockey Player, St. Louis Bandits NAHL[10]
Dick Button 1954, JD 1955 Figure Skater, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, 5x World Champion,7x National Champion[11]
Joseph V. Cavanagh1971Hockey Player, Braintree Hawks[10]
Michael Cohrs1979 MBA 1981Group Exec. Comm. and Vorstand Deutsche Bank; Board of Governors (Court) Bank of England
Archibald Cox1934U.S. Solicitor General and special prosecutor, Watergate
Allerton Cushman19291928 Olympics Rowing (4+)[12]
Bronson M. Cutting 1910 U.S. Senator New Mexico; assistant Military Attaché American Embassy in London 1917-1918
Matt Damon 1992 Actor, Academy Award Good Will Hunting[13]
Marshall H. Everson III2013Hockey Player, Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL[10]
Max J. Everson2015Hockey Player, Omaha Lancers USHL[10]
Marco J.J. Ferrari1997Hockey Player, Dorfen ESC Ger. 2[10]
William Cameron Forbes 1892 Diplomat,Governor-General of the Philippines 1908-13; Ambassador of the United States to Japan 1930-1932
Charles Macomb Flandrau 1895 Author Harvard Episodes (1897), Viva Mexico! (1901)
James M. Fraser II2009Hockey Player, Reading Royals ECHL[10]
Vinton Freedley 1914 Broadway Producer Funny Face, Oh! Kay, Rosa Ponsell, Anything Goes, Red, Hot and Blue[14]
Luke V. Greiner2013Hockey Player, South Carolina Stingrays ECHL[10]
Ryan Grimshaw2012Hockey Player, South Carolina Stingrays ECHL[10]
Cory Gustafson1997Hockey Player, Landshut EV 2 G.Bund.[10]
Tod D. Hartje1990Hockey Player, Toledo Storm ECHL[10]
Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan IV 1958 49th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis and Aga Khan IV
Eugene Kinasewich1964Hockey Player, Braintree Hawks NEnHL[10]
Bradley G. Konik1995Hockey Player, Charlotte Checkers ECHL[10]
Jack Lemmon 1947 Actor, 8x Academy Award nominee, Academy Award Save the Tiger,[13]
Steve Martins1995Hockey Player, Ottawa Senators NHL[10]
Tom McGrath 1976, MBA 1980 Film and Broadway Producer,7x Tony Award winner, The Princess Bride, West Side Story (musical-revival)
Scott McNealy 1976 Founder Sun Microsystems[15]
Stephen T. Michalek2015Hockey Player, Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL[10]
J.P. Morgan, Jr. 1889 Banker
Conor J. Morrison2013Hockey Player, Augsburg Panthers DEL[10]
Daniel P. Murphy2006Hockey Player, Charlotte Checkers ECHL[10]
Brooks Newmark 1980, MBA 1984 Member of Parliament (UK)
Kirk G. Nielsen1996Hockey Player, Boston Bruins NHL
Richard C. Norton 1974 Broadway Producer Long Day's Journey Into Night[16]
Jonathan D. Pelle2008Hockey Player, Belfast Giants EIHL[10]
Ethan Philpott1998Hockey Player, Central Texas Stampede WPHL[10]
Dylan P. Reese2007Hockey Player, Pittsburgh Penguins NHL[10]
Brendan P. Remple2013Hockey Player, South Carolina Stingrays ECHL[10]
Dudley Shaw Richards1954Figure Skater, 1960 Olympics (Pairs) [victim of the 1961 plane crash in which the entire U.S. Figure Skating team perished] 1960 U.S. Champion, Silver Medalist 1961 North American Championship
Leif R. Rosenberger1972Hockey Player, Cape Cod Cubs EHL[10]
Allain Roy1992Hockey Player, Kapfenberg EC Austria[10]
Chris Ruppenthal1976Writer, Producer, 3x Emmy Nominee, Lois & Clark, Outer Limits, Moonlighting, Quantum Leap[17]
George de la Ruiz Santayana 1886 Nobel Prize in Literature, Poet, Prof. of American Literature, Honorary Member 1890-96[18]
Sherrod Emerson Skinner 1951 Medal of Honor Recipient (Korea)[19]
Hilary H. Smart1947Sailor, Gold Medal 1948 Summer Olympics[20]
Chauncey Devereaux Stillman 1929 Squadron Air Combat Intelligence Officer WWII USS Enterprise; National Security Council. Grandson of James Stillman Founder of Citibank
Edward Streeter 1914 Author, Father of the Bride[21]
Gene T. Sykes1980Co-Chairman, Goldman Sachs[22]
Noah P. Welch2005Hockey Player, Atlanta Thrashers NHL[10]
Tom Zollo2011Blogger, Barstool Sports

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "The Men's Final Clubs" James K. McCauley The Harvard Crimson October 5, 2010
  2. 1 2 1925 Delphic Blue Blook, Reminiscences of Haven Parker '22
  3. ↑ "Female Final Clubs: A Retrospection" by Lena K. Felton and Molly E. Wharton, The Harvard Crimson; October 10, 2013
  4. ↑ "Clubs at Harvard Vote to End Ties" The New York Times; December 11, 1984
  5. ↑ "Delphic Trust Files Lawsuit Against Harvard Administration" by Antonio Coppola and John P. Finnegan, The Harvard Crimson; October 28, 2013
  6. 1 2 Harvard Episodes by Charles Macomb Flandrau orig. published 1897, reprinted Westphalia Press 2014
  7. ↑ Diary of A Freshman by Charles Macomb Flandrau, orig. published 1901, reprinted Kessinger Publishing 2010
  8. ↑ William Hltzberger, "The Unpublished Poems of Santayana," The Southern Review Winter 1975 pp148-150
  9. ↑ George de la Ruiz Santayana, November 20, 1903; reprinted: Delphic Club 75th Anniversary Booklet April 1979
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 HockeyDb.com Retrieved December 30, 2014
  11. ↑ Biography.com retrieved December 29, 2014
  12. ↑ GoCrimson.com Retrieved December 30, 2014
  13. 1 2 Motion Picture Academy
  14. ↑ IBDb.com
  15. ↑ "Scott McNealy on Making the Leap..." by Colleen Taylor, Techcrunch March 15, 2013
  16. ↑ IBDb.com Retrieved December 29, 2014
  17. ↑ Internet Movie Database
  18. ↑ Santayana at the Gas House by Joel Porte, Sinehour Press 1964
  19. ↑ U.S. Army Center of Military History Retrieved December 30, 2014
  20. ↑ Sandy Bay Yacht Club Members Retrieved December 30, 2014
  21. ↑ IMDb.com Retrieved December 29, 2014
  22. ↑ GoldmanSachs.com Retrieved December 29, 2014
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