History
While spring’s soft breezes fill the air with breath of early flowers, we gather here with happy hearts ‘neath this new roof of ours. We dedicate this noble hall to all that makes life dear, dance, music, mirth and friendly talk beside our hearth stones cheer.
May each New Year within these walls bring blessings without end. Good fellowship reign in our hearts as friend clasps hand with friend. As above the sheltering eaves our elm spreads toward the sky, so may the hopes and aims we hold far reaching be, and high.
June 6, 1907 – Kenilworthian Anne Higginson Spicer
| 1891 | The Kenilworth Club was formed. Joseph Sears enlisted James A. Culbertson (who would become the first village president) to raise capital and propose the club’s mission. |
| 1896 |
The Kenilworth Boat Club merged with the Kenilworth Club |
| 1897 | Raised funds to hold a Fourth of July celebration |
| 1901 | The Kenilworth Club proposed building the Kenilworth Assembly Hall |
| 1906 | More than 70 Kenilworthians signed an agreement to fund and build the Kenilworth Assembly Hall. Joseph Sears donated the land on Kenilworth Ave and asked George W. Maher to design a building worthy of Kenilworth |
| 1907 | Began sponsoring social programs including: card parties, dramatic entertainment, stereopticon lectures, dances, musicals, and smokers |
| 1909 | Began sponsoring Christmas parties for children |
| 1919 | Donated $2,000 for beach improvements |
| 1920 | Leased the Kenilworth Assembly Hall Building for $1/year. |
| 1921 | The Kenilworth Club raised money to ensure the Kenilworth Assembly Hall was debt-free. The ownership and management of the Kenilworth Assembly Hall was turned over to the Kenilworth Club. The Kenilworth Club hosts the first Field Days for the children of Kenilworth. |
| 1922 | The Kenilworth Club funded a lifeguard at the beach and provided money to support the planning commission |
| 1926 | The Kenilworth Club hosts the first Field Days for the men of Kenilworth |
| 1928 | The Kenilworth Club donated $1,500 to equip the beach house and provide lockers for the Culbertson gymnasium at Kenilworth Union Church. |
| 1932 | Resident subscription program for the building ended |
| 1935 | Paul Kelly, Bill Sears and Raymond Wiese organized The Kenilworth Club Men’s Bowling League. The KCMBL is one of the oldest bowling leagues in the country. The teams are the Abingdons, Roslyns, Raleighs, Kents, Sterlings, Tudors, Warwicks, Leicesters, Oxfords and Glendennings. |
| 1939 | The Kenilworth Club is a founding member of the Kenilworth Citizen’s Advisory Committee |
| 1940+ | Kenilworth Club programming expands to include: a New Year’s Eve Ball, Halloween Parties, Lobster Grills, Bingo, Spring Cook Outs, Dinner Theatre, Family Picnics, Cocktail Parties, Dinner and Bridge, Live Murder Mysteries, Mother/Daughter Dinners, Father/Son Dinners, Square Dancing, Cultural Fairs, Dance Instruction, Monto Carlo Casino Nights, Amateur Variety Acts, St. Patrick Day Parties and more… |
| 2016 | The Kenilworth Club donated the Kenilworth Assembly Hall to the Kenilworth Park District. |
The Kenilworth Club was here before “The Building”
