Soldiers', Sailors', Marines', Coast Guard and Airmen's Club

The building you are approaching at 283 Lexington Avenue was born from a specific need at the end of the first World War. In 1919, Cornelia Barnes Rogers, Eleanor Butler Alexander-Roosevelt, and General John J. Pershing founded the club to provide a place for service members returning from the battlefields of Europe to stay as they passed through New York City. They relied entirely on private donations and the goodwill of the community rather than government funding to keep their doors open. The club became a temporary home for millions of military personnel, offering them a safe and affordable environment in the heart of Manhattan for nearly a century.