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Automobile Club of America

The Automobile Club of America (ACA) was the first automobile club formed in America in 1899.[1] The club was dissolved in 1932 following the Great Depression and declining membership.

History

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Early history

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On June 7, 1899, a group of gentlemen auto racers met at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan and founded the Automobile Club of America.[2] The Automobile Club of America was officially incorporated on August 15, 1899, in order to "maintain a social club devoted to the sport of automobilism and to its development throughout the country".[3] The original directors of the club were: Frank C. Hollister, Charles R. Flint, George Moore Smith, Winslow E. Busby, Whitney Lyon, George F. Chamberlain, Homer W. Hedge, and William Henry Hall of New York City and V. Everit Macy of Scarborough-on-Hudson.[3] While it was called the Automobile Club of America, it was really a local organization.[4] It was a founding member of the American Automobile Association (AAA) in 1902.[5]

In 1907, the organization built its clubhouse, which was essentially a garage at 247 West 54th Street with a terra-cotta exterior. Architect Ernest Flagg "designed a sophisticated factorylike building with great banks of metal windows, set in a rich screen of glazed terra cotta, particularly fulsome on the second floor. There, a double-height assembly hall, modeled on one at Château de Cheverny in the Loire Valley, ran 100 feet across the building’s front, adjacent to a grill room on the same scale at the back."[4]

Feud with AAA

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Trophy of the ACA-sanctioned American Grand Prize

In 1908, the AAA increased their membership dues, leading to a falling out with the ACA. The Automobile Club of America (ACA) created the American Grand Prize, the first traces of Grand Prix style racing in the U.S. along, and in competition with, the then established Vanderbilt Cup – sanctioned by the AAA's Racing Board. This race escalated the feud between the ACA and the AAA. Later in 1908 it was decided that AAA would sanction all big time racing nationally and the ACA would sanction all international events held on American soil. On December 2, 1908, AAA dissolved the Racing Board and created the Contest Board soon after. Though the rationale for this decision has been lost with time, the move was most likely done to allow AAA to oversee all automobile events and not just racing contests.[5]

Post-1908

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In 1909, after the number of members looking for garage space doubled, the club built an addition on West 55th Street. By 1910, membership in the club was up to 1,000. In 1923, however, the club sold the complex and the original buildings were converted to other uses before being torn down in 2008.[4]

 
Depicted in 1925 as the Automobile Club of America clubhouse

The club relocated to the former Fisk-Harkness townhouse at 12 East 53rd Street and separately negotiated blocks of space in garages around Manhattan.[4][6][7] The Fisk–Harkness House had 28,000 square feet (2,600 m2), which represented an increase of 8,000 square feet (740 m2) over the club's existing space in the automobile district south of Columbus Circle.[7][8] Furthermore, 12 East 53rd Street was close to several other clubhouses along Fifth Avenue, including those of the University Club, Union Club, Calumet Club, Knickerbocker Club, and Metropolitan Club.[9][10] The Club received a $190,000 mortgage on the new building in early 1924.[11] After undergoing $100,000 worth of renovations,[12][13] the clubhouse was dedicated in April 1925.[14][15] The clubhouse was among the locations where New York license plates were distributed.[16][17] Events hosted at the house included a luncheon with a League of Nations Non-Partisan Association official,[18] an annual session of the National Highway Traffic Administration,[19] as well as bridge games and tea dances.[20][21] In the 1920s, the ACA quietly rejoined the AAA.[5]

Decline and demise

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The club had a peak membership of 6,000, but following the Great Depression in the United States, several thousand members left the club. As a result, in January 1932, the Automobile Club's governors voted to dissolve the club.[12][13] The East 53rd Street building was placed for sale at a foreclosure auction that August,[22] and it was sold to the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York for $50,000.[23] The building was later renovated into the showroom of art dealer Symons Galleries in 1938.[24]

Prominent members

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Among the prominent members of the Club were:


References

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  1. ^ "WHY AUTO BREAK CAME | CLUB EXPLAINS ACTION. | Need for International Race the Chief Reason". New-York Tribune. 12 July 1908. p. 9. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Automobile Club Formed" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 October 1899.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Automobile Club of America". The New York Times. 16 August 1899. p 3 col 2. Retrieved 5 May 2022 – via Internet Archive Digital Library.
  4. ^ a b c d Gray, Christopher (1 October 2009). "Oil for My Car, a Cocktail for Me". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c IMRRC Symposium 2023 - Don Capps, 1908 and American Motor Sport, retrieved 2023-11-14
  6. ^ "Automobiles Club Gets Former Harkness Home". New-York Tribune. December 11, 1923. p. 22. ProQuest 1237317117.
  7. ^ a b "East Side Home for Automobile Club: Commercial Growth on Broadway and Eighth Avenue Below Columbus Circle Has Made Property Now Occupied Too Valuable for Garage Uses". The New York Times. December 16, 1923. p. RE2. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 103159612.
  8. ^ "A.C.A's New Home For Club Purposes Only". The Standard Union. December 16, 1923. p. 20. Retrieved June 14, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Auto Club to Open New 6-story Home; Pioneer Motor Organization to Move on Tuesday to Fifth Avenue Club Centre" (PDF). The New York Times. April 26, 1925. p. E1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Landmarks Preservation Commission 2011, p. 9.
  11. ^ "Private Dwelling Houses Taken Over by Operators and Investors". New-York Tribune. February 9, 1924. p. 18. ProQuest 1222060580.
  12. ^ a b "Automobile Club Is to Disband; Formed in 1899: Liquidation of Oldest Motorist Group in Country Due to Loss of Members A. A. A. Will Occupy Home Sponsored First Road Races, Shows and Traffic Rules". New York Herald Tribune. January 22, 1932. p. 32. ProQuest 1221264385.
  13. ^ a b "Motor Clubs". Washington Evening Star. January 23, 1932. p A-6 col 2. Retrieved 8 May 2022. ... the Automobile Club of America has decided to ... close its doors forever, [demonstrating] the change that has taken place during the past twenty years ...
  14. ^ "Reception in New Home Of Automobile Club: Governors Welcome Friends at 12 East Fifty-third Street". The New York Herald, New York Tribune. April 29, 1925. p. 15. ProQuest 1112797059.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Automobile Club Opens New Home; President Woods Welcomes Members in Former Harkness Residence, 12 East 53d St" (PDF). The New York Times. April 29, 1925. p. 21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  16. ^ "1927 License Plates for Autos Tomorrow; Motor Vehicle Bureau Announces Places in City Where They May Be Obtained" (PDF). The New York Times. November 21, 1926. p. 13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  17. ^ "Issue to Begin Tomorrow of 1930 Car Tags: Plates for New Year May Be Attached to Automobiles on December 16 Many Stations in City Commissioner Harnett Seeks to Avoid Final Congestion". New York Herald Tribune. November 24, 1929. p. B12. ProQuest 1111984994.
  18. ^ "World Court Step by Us Is Advocated; Adoption by Senate of Gillett Resolution Urged by League Association at Luncheon" (PDF). The New York Times. February 25, 1928. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  19. ^ "Highway Men Fight Road Advertising; Traffic Association Opposes a Bill Allowing Business Signs on Danger Markers" (PDF). The New York Times. May 1, 1926. p. 10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  20. ^ "Automobile Club Plans Tea-Dances" (PDF). The New York Times. January 6, 1928. p. S18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  21. ^ "Bridge, Dance, for Union Hospital". New York Herald Tribune. December 3, 1927. p. 15. ProQuest 1133111935.
  22. ^ "Many Auction Sales Planned". New York Herald Tribune. August 30, 1932. p. 30. ProQuest 1221639783.
  23. ^ "Benenson Holdings Bid in at Auction; Four Downtown Buildings Go to City Bank Farmers Trust for $1,500,000" (PDF). The New York Times. August 31, 1932. p. 31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  24. ^ "Art Firm Moves; Symons Galleries Will Occupy New Home in 53d Street" (PDF). The New York Times. May 1, 1938. p. 181. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  25. ^ "Grant B. Schley, Financier, Dead; Head of Firm of Moore & Schley and Member of Stock Exchange for 36 Years". The New York Times. 23 November 1917. Retrieved 17 May 2023 – via newspapers.com.

Sources

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See also

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