What is The Level Club... A Historical Overview

In 1919, when the Club spirit was high in New York City, a group of Masons known as The Levelers spontaneously formed their own organization called The Level Club. Initially, membership was restricted to only Masons of the same lodge; however, it was later decided that the club be opened to Masons everywhere, and that a unique, prestigious headquarters be created geared toward social and business interactions.

The early 1920s boom in entertainment, tourism and real estate fueled the pursuit of the Levelers dream. On May 25, 1923, member Alec Natanson discovered a group of four brownstones for sale on 73rd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue, and the Levelers unanimously approved the purchase one week later. The location was particularly prime, as it sat between the upscale Ansonia Hotel and the palatial mansion of Charles Schwab, the King of Steel.

The Level Club building at 253 West 73rd Street - "a veritable monument to Masonry" - was designed by architects Clinton Russell Wells George and Holton as the first Hotel and Club welcoming Masons from all over the world. The cornerstone celebration took place with great anticipation on October 17, 1925, and on November 12, 1927, in a time of nationwide prosperity, progress and pride, the inauguration of the building was held. The Level Club, with a most elegant lobby, hotel services, grand dining, lounge and club rooms, a 1,500-seat theater, an Olympic size pool and gymnasium in basement levels, plus a roof garden, was officially open for business, and admired by all.

The 1929 crash and Great Depression changed the face and financial standing of The Level Club permanently, however. To help feed the enormous expenses, the Levelers could no longer limit their facility to Masons only, and so advertised the club as a complete, modern men's hotel. On May 18, 1931, the building was foreclosed upon, and the dream came to an end.

Over the decades that followed, The Level Club sold several times, serving as a hotel under various names, and experiencing ups and downs in popularity. By the late 1970s, the Upper West Side began turning around as a more desirable neighborhood. The Phoenix House Association, which bought the building in 1976, sold The Level Club to a partnership of American and European investors for $9.6 million. The Level Club was reborn as a condominium complex, and issued its first offering plan for purchase on August 31, 1984.