Main content

Locust Club of Philadelphia Records

Notifications

Held at: Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

Call Number:
SCRC 77
Repository:
Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
Extent:
7.25 linear feet (12 boxes + 3 map folders)
Language:
English
Preferred Citation:
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], The Locust Club of Philadelphia Records, SCRC 77, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Date:
1920-1999 (inclusive)
Creator:
Locust Club of Philadelphia
Form:
Administrative records, Articles of Incorporation, Audiocassettes, Bylaws (administrative records), Charters, Clippings, Correspondence, Directories, Financial records, Legal documents, Histories (literary works), Membership lists, Minutes (administrative records), Newsletters, Oral histories, Photocopies, Photographs, Printed ephemera, and Speeches (documents)
Abstract:

The Locust Club of Philadelphia was a social club founded by prominent Jewish businessmen in 1920. Its fully-staffed clubhouse featured dining rooms, lounges, private banquet and meeting rooms, a card room, barber shop, and gymnasium. In 1960, The Locust Club merged with the Midcity Club, a social club similarly organized in 1947. Women were not accepted as club members until 1983. The Locust Club closed in 1999, after a decade of sharply declining membership.

This collection contains the records of The Locust Club and includes meeting minutes, correspondence, financial reports, membership information, news clippings, photographs, and ephemera that document the history of the organization.

This collection has been arranged into four series as follows:

Series 1: Committee Meeting Minutes, 1920-1999
Series 2: Financial Reports, 1940, 1979, 1988, 1992-1998
Series 3: Administrative Files, 1949-1999
Series 4: Photographs, News Clippings, and Ephemera, circa 1920s-1996

Collection placed on deposit by The Locust Club of Philadelphia in 1974, and ownership devolved to the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center in 1979. Subsequent donations were made in 2000, 2001, 2009, and 2024.

Collection previously administered by the Philadelphia Jewish Archives Center, acquired by Temple in June 2009.

A selection of photographs from this collection has been digitized and is available online on the Temple University Digital Collections website: http://digital.library.temple.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15037coll15

Original audiovisual materials, as well as preservation and duplicating masters, may not be played. Researchers must consult use copies, or if none exist must pay for a use copy. Certain digital files may also be inaccessible. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.

Collection processed and finding aid prepared in August 2014 by Jenna Marrone, Project Archivist, Special Collections Research Center. Additional processing and finding aid revision completed in February 2025 and August 2025 by Emily Rice, Project Archivist.

Organization
Subject
Place

Publisher
Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center
Finding Aid Author
Machine-readable finding aid created by: Rajkumar Natarajan, Sky Global Services India (P) Ltd.
Finding Aid Date
May 2024
Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

The Locust Club of Philadelphia Records are the property of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries. Temple University holds intellectual property rights only for material donated to the university with such rights specifically assigned. For all other material, intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.

Collection Inventory

Scope and Contents

Series 1: Committee Meeting Minutes, 1920-1999, contains meeting minutes from committees including the Admissions Committee, Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Employee Benefits Committee, Finance Committee, House Committee, Member Relations Committee, and Women's Advisory Committee. Many of the meeting minutes of the Board of Directors and Executive Committees are bound. This series also contains meeting minutes for the Midcity Club prior to its merger with The Locust Club. This series is arranged alphabetically by committee title, and then chronologically.

Admissions Committee, 1976-1986.
Box 1 Folder 1
Admissions Committee, 1987-1995.
Box 1 Folder 2
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1920-1932.
Box 1 Folder 3
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1952.
Box 1 Folder 4
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1957-1959.
Box 1 Folder 5
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1960-1962.
Box 2 Folder 1
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1962-1965.
Box 2 Folder 2
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1965-1968.
Box 2 Folder 3
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1969-1973.
Box 3 Folder 1
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1973-1978.
Box 3 Folder 2
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1979-1986.
Box 3 Folder 3
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1986-1990.
Box 4 Folder 1
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1990-1992.
Box 4 Folder 2
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1991.
Box 4 Folder 3
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1991-1995.
Box 4 Folder 4
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1993-1997.
Box 5 Folder 1
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee, 1995-1999.
Box 5 Folder 2
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee: Midcity Club, 1956-1959.
Box 5 Folder 3
Board of Directors/ Executive Committee: Midcity Club, 1959-1960.
Box 6 Folder 1
Employee Benefits Committee, 1988-1995.
Box 6 Folder 2
Finance Committee, 1974-1975.
Box 10 Folder 1
Finance Committee, 1990-1999.
Box 6 Folder 3
House Committee, 1988-1995.
Box 6 Folder 4
Member Relations Committee, 1990-1995.
Box 6 Folder 5
Nominating Committee, 1961-1990s.
Box 6 Folder 6
Planning Committee, 1977.
Box 10 Folder 2
Special Meeting of Club membership, 1978.
Box 10 Folder 3
Women's Advisory Committee, 1990-1995.
Box 6 Folder 7
Various Committees, 1990-1993.
Box 6 Folder 8

Scope and Contents

Series 2: Financial Reports, 1979, 1992-1998, contains monthly financial statements and reports for the organization mostly from the 1990s. This series is arranged chronologically.

General financial statements and reports, 1940, 1988.
Box 11 Folder 1
General financial statements and reports, 1979, 1995-1998.
Box 10 Folder 4
Financial reports, 1992.
Box 6 Folder 9
Financial reports, 1993.
Box 7 Folder 1
Financial reports, 1994.
Box 7 Folder 2
Financial reports, 1995.
Box 7 Folder 3
Financial reports, 1995.
Box 7 Folder 4
Financial reports, 1996.
Box 7 Folder 5
Financial reports, 1997.
Box 7 Folder 6

Scope and Contents

Series 3: Administrative Files, 1949-1999, contains annual reports, by-laws, correspondence, employee benefits, house rules, lease and loan information, and membership files. This series is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Amendments to the Articles of Consolidation, 1960, 1964.
Box 8 Folder 1
Annual reports, 1970-1988.
Box 11 Folder 2
Annual reports, 1977-1978.
Box 10 Folder 5
Annual reports, 1985-1996.
Box 8 Folder 2
By-laws and charter, 1985-1994.
Box 8 Folder 3
By-laws and house rules, circa 1950s.
Box 8 Folder 4
By-laws, house rules, and club facilities, circa 1966.
Box 11 Folder 3
By-laws, house rules, and club facilities, circa 1973.
Box 8 Folder 5
Charter: Locust Club, 1920.
Map Folder M1d
Charter: Midcity Club, 1947.
Map Folder M1d
Club house locations, 1928, 1935.
Box 11 Folder 4
Correspondence, general, 1949, 1982-1997.
Box 8 Folder 6
Correspondence, general, 1955, 1988.
Box 11 Folder 5
Correspondence regarding membership, 1949, 1957.
Box 11 Folder 6
Correspondence regarding membership, 1961, 1986-1993.
Box 10 Folder 6
Correspondence regarding the purchase of artwork, 1990.
Box 8 Folder 7
Correspondence regarding women's membership, 1975-1978.
Box 8 Folder 8
Correspondence regarding women's membership, 1975-1978.
Box 8 Folder 9
Correspondence with Malmud, Leonard S., 1976-1978, 1992.
Box 10 Folder 7
Employees: benefits, correspondence, and organizational chart, 1990-1991.
Box 8 Folder 10
History of the Locust Club, 1989-1991.
Box 8 Folder 11
Lease agreement and loans, 1997-1998.
Box 8 Folder 12
Loan closing, 1993.
Box 8 Folder 13
Luncheon menu price lists, 1974, 1988.
Box 10 Folder 8
Member correspondence, 1971-1999.
Box 9 Folder 1
Member statistics, 1978-1998.
Box 10 Folder 9
Member statistics, 1988.
Box 11 Folder 7
Membership and committee directories, 1989-1995.
Box 9 Folder 2
Midcity Club merger, 1958-1959, 1961.
Box 11 Folder 8
Officers and board members, 1969-1988.
Box 11 Folder 9

Scope and Contents

Series 4: Photographs, News Clippings, and Ephemera, circa 1920s-1996, contains planning materials from the 75th Anniversary of The Locust Club, as well as news clippings, photographs, club newsletters, and event invitations and fliers. This series is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

75th Anniversary planning and banquet menus, circa 1996.
Box 9 Folder 3
75th Anniversary planning drafts, 1994-1995.
Box 9 Folder 4
Award certificate of appreciation for Karl, Herman, and John Bennung, 1949.
Map Folder M1d
Award certificate of appreciation for Karl, Herman, and John Bennung (photocopies), 1949.
Box 11 Folder 10
Award dinners: invitations and speeches, 1989-1990.
Box 9 Folder 5
Bond certificates, 1922.
Box 11 Folder 11
Event invitations, fliers, and news clippings (photocopies), circa 1920s-1930s.
Box 9 Folder 6
Event invitations and fliers, 1930-1941.
Box 11 Folder 12
Event invitations and fliers, circa 1930s, undated.
Box 11 Folder 13
Event invitations and fliers, 1988.
Box 11 Folder 14
Event fliers and advertisements, 1990s.
Box 9 Folder 7
Membership dinners: agendas and speeches, 1976-1978.
Box 10 Folder 10
Menus, 1934, 1940, undated.
Box 11 Folder 15
News clippings (photocopies), circa 1920s-1970s.
Box 9 Folder 8
News clippings, 1930s, undated.
Box 11 Folder 16
News clippings (photocopies), 1981, 1983, 1985.
Box 11 Folder 17
Newsletters: The Leaf, 1988-1996.
Box 9 Folder 9
Oral history: Beinstein, Leon (casssette tape), August 13, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Binswanger (video cassette), August 14, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Cohen, Albert M. (casssette tape), August 3, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Edelstein, Nathan (casssette tape), November 23, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Edelstein, Nathan (casssette tape), undated.
Box 12
Oral history: Fishman, Bill and Selma (cassette tape), November 17, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Kind, Philip (cassette tape), August 17, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Krekstein, Isadore (cassette tape), August 13, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Polisker, Edward (cassette tape), August 15, 1988.
Box 12
Oral history: Whiteman, Max (cassette tape), November 27, 1988.
Box 12
Photographs: construction of Locust Club Building, 1960-1961.
Box 9 Folder 10
Photographs: general, circa 1950s.
Box 9 Folder 11

Print, Suggest