The Graduate Club

The Graduate Club — presently known as The Elm City Club — was founded in 1892 by Yale alumni who wanted a club in New Haven that was specifically for Yale graduates (as opposed to undergraduates) — one of the earliest “graduate and professional alumni commons” models in the United States. It originally met downtown, then moved to Elm Street where, in 1906–07, it commissioned and opened the present Colonial Revival clubhouse at 155 Elm, directly across from Old Campus. For decades it was a key social center for alumni, visiting faculty, professional school students, and the “downtown Yale” intellectual circle. The Club persisted through the 20th century as a rare independent Yale-adjacent club that was not absorbed by the University — making it a living holdover from the era when Yale’s graduate/professional identity was still self-organizing itself alongside (not inside) the College.