Harvard Club of Boston
The Harvard Club of Boston is a private social club located in Boston, Massachusetts. Its membership is open to alumni and associates of Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, and Fletcher [School of Law and Diplomacy|Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University]. The Back Bay Clubhouse is located in Boston's historic Back Bay neighborhood, at 374 Commonwealth Avenue.
History
20th century
The Harvard Club was founded by a group of 22 Harvard University alumni in 1908. The original dues were $5.00 per year, and by the end of the year, more than 1,200 members had joined. The first president, Henry Lee Higginson, was also the founder of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 1909, the Club established its first scholarships, awarding grants of $200 to local high school students who would be attending Harvard. One of the first recipients of these scholarships, James Bryant Conant, went on to become the 23rd president of Harvard. In 1912–1913, the Club decided to construct a clubhouse, the Back Bay Clubhouse at 374 Commonwealth Avenue. In 1925, eight squash courts were built. During the Great Depression, the Club acted as an employment agency, posting a list of positions needed by members who were out of a job. During World War II, cots were placed in these courts, and lodging was offered to military officers at the cost of $1.50 per night.In 1971, women, once limited to dining in the women's annex while the men dined in Harvard Hall, were welcomed as full and active members for the first time in the Club's history. In 1976, the Downtown Clubhouse was purchased at One Federal Street, providing a location more convenient to most of Boston's offices.
21st century
In 2003, the Downtown Clubhouse underwent a $2.5 million renovation. In 2015, a $16 million renovation of the Back Bay Clubhouse was completed, providing members with new dining spaces, a wine room, enhanced function and member spaces, renovated overnight rooms, a new elevator, and an upgraded athletics center.In 2016, after 108 years, the Club elected its first female President, Karen Van Winkle, a Harvard College alumnus and native of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ms. Van Winkle's three-year term ushered in a new era for the organization as it grows and diversifies its membership and enhances its presence in Greater Boston.
In 2016, the Club was named a Platinum Club of America, an award given to only the top 4% of private clubs nationwide. In 2017, Harvard Hall at the Back Bay Clubhouse was named "Best Ballroom" in the city by Boston magazine. And, in 2018, the Club was named a Platinum Club of the World – the only private city club in New England to achieve this distinction. The Club presently includes approximately 5,000 members living in 40 countries around the globe.
Fine for PPP fraud
The Harvard Club of Boston agreed in January 2026 to pay approximately $2.4 million to resolve allegations by the U.S. Department of Justice that it violated the False Claims Act. The club admitted that on May 4, 2021, it applied for and certified its eligibility for a first-draw Paycheck Protection Program loan under the CARES Act, later receiving full forgiveness from the Small Business Administration, despite being ineligible due to its status as a private membership club that restricts membership based on criteria other than capacity, in accordance with longstanding SBA guidance excluding such entities from PPP loans.The settlement, which credited the club's cooperation with the investigation, resolved a qui tam lawsuit filed by whistleblower Daniel Foster, from which Foster received approximately $247,219.