The College Club of Boston B&B

The College Club of Boston was the first women's college club in America. The Club's Victorian brownstone is host to a number of events and is available for member and non-member use. It is an elegant venue available for hosting an array of events. The Club is conveniently located at 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston's historic Back Bay, just one block from the Public Garden.

The Club has an accomplished staff that can assist planning any special event. We are experienced in hosting weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, anniversaries, birthdays, concerts, and business meetings. The Club offers many amenities, including our full catering menu, wait staff, 11 guestrooms, wireless internet access, A/V equipment, and more. We are waiting to assist you with your next event!

The Club is conveniently near Beacon Hill, Charles Street, Copley Square, the Prudential Tower, Government Center, Newbury Street and the Theater District. The Club furnishes an elegant setting for any event.

Located in the heart of the Back Bay
on prestigious Commonwealth Avenue.
The College Club of Boston

Located at 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston’s historic Back Bay, just one block from the Boston Public Garden, the Club’s restored Victorian brownstone offers many amenities. The Club is conveniently located near Beacon Hill, Charles Street, Copley Square, the Prudential Tower, Government Center, Newbury Street and the Theater District. The Club furnishes an elegant setting for any in-town event.

The Percy-Dauber Drawing Room, located on the first floor, is available for cocktail parties, dinners, business meetings and other events. En suite with The Members Room, featuring 18-foot ceilings and classical decor, this is the perfect venue for weddings and will accommodate up to 100 guests.

The Members Room overlooks the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, gracefully blending comfort with classic tradition in a very private setting. The Members Room may be reserved for small gatherings and business meetings of up to twenty guests.

The Wheaton College Dining Room, on the lobby level, offers complimentary continental breakfast each morning. With a seating capacity of 35, this room is a relaxed setting for more informal gatherings. Newspapers, magazines and television are available for guest use.

The College Club has 11 guest rooms, each uniquely designed and appointed to reflect a specific college or university.

From the Mass Pike:
Take the Prudential/Copley Square exit. At the split, take the Copley Square exit. Merge onto Stuart Street and continue to the 3 rd set of lights. Turn Left onto Berkeley Street. Follow Berkeley Street to the 4 th set of lights. Turn Right onto Commonwealth Avenue. We are #44 on the right-hand side.

From Logan Airport:
Take the Sumner Tunnel into Boston. Follow all signs for Storrow Drive. Take the second exit - Copley Square/ Back Bay (exit on the left). At the end of the exit, go right onto Beacon Street to Clarendon Street - second street on your left. Take Clarendon Street across Marlborough Street to Commonwealth Avenue. Turn left, cross Berkeley Street - #44 is two doors down.

From the South:
Take Southeast Expressway (Route 93 North). Follow all signs for Storrow Drive. Take the second exit - Copley Square/ Back Bay (exit on the left). At the end of the exit, go right onto Beacon Street to Clarendon Street - second street on your left. Take Clarendon Street across Marlborough Street to Commonwealth Avenue. Turn left, cross Berkeley Street - #44 is two doors down.

From the North:
Take Route 93 South to Storrow Drive. Take the second exit - Copley Square/ Back Bay (exit on the left). At the end of the exit, go right onto Beacon Street to Clarendon Street- second street on your left. Take Clarendon Street across Marlborough Street to Commonwealth Avenue. Turn left, cross Berkeley Street - #44 is two doors down.

Public Transportation:
See www.mbta.com We are three blocks from Arlington stop on the Green line. Exit station walk across Arlington Street(Public Garden is on your right)for two blocks. Turn left on to Commonwealth Avenue. Walk 3/4 of block to #44 on left side.

While we may not be designed with children in mind, all well-behaved children and young adults are welcome. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. That said, there's a lot for youngsters to do right within walking distance of The College Club. In spring and summer, take a ride on the swanboats in the Public Garden. Visit the "Make Way for Ducklings" sculpture and take a picture sitting on the ducks! Make sure to stop by and say hello to Romeo and Juliet (both female, actually!), our swans-in-residence.

The Boston Common Frog Pond offers a wading pool with a huge sprinkler to run around in or just cool off. The Frog Pond is also home to outdoor ice-skating in the winter months. Nearby the Frog Pond, from May through October, there is a Carousel, a well-equipped playground and tennis courts. The Boston Duck Tours and the Old Town Trolley Tours are all within walking distance. The Children's Museum, New England Aquarium and Museum of Science are all a short subway ride away!

At the College Club of Boston, we have an accomplished staff that can assist in planning any special event, as well as an elegant and versatile space to suit your needs. Our executive chef/event planner brings the personal touch to your event by expertly designing all menus based on each client's individual tastes, needs, and budget.

Business professionals have chosen our elegant venue time and time again for corporate functions. Whether it be a strategic planning session, a networking event, or a full-day retreat, we have the capacity and the tools to accommodate a variety of business needs.

Our beautifully decorated event space is the ideal setting for a wide variety of social and corporate events for alumni associations, private clubs, and professional organizations of all kinds.

To get in touch with us, you can give us a call at 617.536.9510, email us at functions@thecollegeclubofboston.com, or submit a function inquiry online (see right). Let us have a personal conversation with you about how we can help you plan a memorable function.

The College Club is a perfect destination for intimate weddings, including the ceremony, reception, and accommodation for you and your guests. A typical array of events we have hosted in the past includes:

Weddings, Baby showers, Corporate meetings and dinners, Professional networking events, College and university alumni association events,  Social events and mixers, and Holiday parties.

There are numerous advantages to planning your event with us.

• The personal attention of a small facility from our event planner and executive chef
• A full catering menu, with options for passed or stationed hors d'oeuvres, multi-course meals, and buffets
• Professional and attentive waitstaff
• Eleven guestrooms for your guests' or colleagues' overnight stays
• Complimentary wireless internet access
• Audiovisual equipment including LCD projector and screen
• Podium with microphone
• A convenient and central location: The Club is located at 44 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston’s historic Back Bay district of downtown Boston, just one block from the Public Garden. Get directions, or learn more about our historic neighborhood.

The College Club of Boston: A rich past, a dynamic present...

One chilly day in December 1890, nineteen women met in Boston's Back Bay. Their mission? To form a club where college-educated women could "enjoy sociability and companionship" while advancing their knowledge of literature, public affairs, history and the arts.

They hosted programs, social events and lectures, attracting literary stars such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, feminist Lucy Stone and Mark Twain. A century later, The College Club of Boston, the oldest such club in America, remains a diverse and dynamic women's membership organization that more than fulfills the mission of its founders.

With afternoon tea, fashion shows, concerts and more, our members enjoy the sociability for which the Club was founded. We learn at lectures, engage in discussion at book clubs, stage art exhibits and entertain friends in our Victorian brownstone. We network to further our career goals. We connect with neighbors and make new friends.

We also enjoy reciprocity with exclusive private clubs in London, New York, Newport, RI and more, affording us privileges usually restricted to these clubs' members, such as bargain rates to stay at their elegant clubhouses. We use the Club's beautiful Back Bay brownstone as our pied à terre in the city, or as a guestroom for family and friends.

Finally, the members of The College Club of Boston are dedicated to educational philanthropy, with a campaign that each year raises scholarship funds for Boston public school seniors.

Did you know?

• Founded in 1890 with annual dues of $12 per year, The College Club of Boston is the oldest such club in the country.
• Guests and lecturers at The College Club have included Mark Twain, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Senator Edward Kennedy.
• The Club's beautiful Victorian clubhouse at 44 Commonwealth Avenue was built in 1864 and purchased for $50,000 in 1925.
• The cost of tea for members and their guests has actually gone down! Five cents a cup in 1896, afternoon tea is free for members and their guests today.
• Our members range in age from 28 years to 90+ years old. They include lawyers, doctors, homemakers, realtors, scientists and entrepreneurs.
• The Club's bed and breakfast bedrooms were originally residential "sleeping rooms" for the members, decorated in colors to reflect those of well-known women's colleges like crimson for Radcliffe and blue for Wellesley.
• Many of our lovely antiques and artwork were willed to the Club by loyal members.
• In 2004 the Club raised over $15,000 in college scholarship funds to benefit 11 high school seniors in Boston neighborhoods including Dorchester, Roslindale and South Boston. In addition, $1,000 is given each year to the Community Music Center of Boston.