The Phoenix – S K Club is an all-male final clubatHarvard College, sometimes referred to as The PhoenixorThe P.S.K. The society traces its earliest roots to 1895, forming from the amalgamation and reorganization of the Sphinx, Kalumet, and Phoenix Clubs.[1][2] The Phoenix – S K clubhouse is located at 72 Mt. Auburn Street in Cambridge.[3] The club has been noted for the diversity present within its membership.[4][5]
The Phoenix Club was formed in 1902 by a group of men who were members of Theta Nu Epsilon, a national sophomore society formed as an offshoot of Yale University's Skull and Bones.[6] The Alpha Iota chapter of Theta Nu Epsilon at Harvard College was chartered in 1895.[2] The members of T.N.E. organized the Phoenix Club for residential and dining purposes, yet still maintained ties as the Alpha Iota chapter to the rest of the society until 1913 when there was a division within that society. It is not known when members of the Phoenix Club ceased to meet as members of Theta Nu Epsilon. Starting in 1902, the Phoenix Club occupied a series of houses, starting with the John Hicks House at 64 Dunster Street, then in 1906 it moved to 97 Mt. Auburn Street, then in 1920 it moved again to the northeast corner of Winthrop and Holyoke Streets.
The Sphinx Club grew out of a small secret society founded in 1897. Originally known by several names, in 1900, almost all the members of this organization joined together in forming the Sphinx Club, located at 1172 Massachusetts Avenue, then 55 Mt. Auburn Street. In 1903 the Club moved to 72 Mt. Auburn Street, the current site of the Phoenix – S K Club.
The Kalumet Club was started by members of the Harvard chapter of Beta Theta Pi,[7] many in the class of 1900, and occupied a small house on the current Harvard Lampoon building site on Mt. Auburn Street. In 1900, the Club was formally organized as the Kalumet Club and moved to 1178 Massachusetts Avenue. In 1901 it moved to 104 Mt. Auburn Street, then three years later it moved again to 44 Church Street, where it remained until its amalgamation with the Sphinx in 1914.
The adoption of the Inter-Club Agreement and other conditions made the union of these two Clubs desirable, so in 1914, members of both clubs voted that their undergraduate memberships should both join the new S K Club. Construction was begun on a new clubhouse on the site of the Sphinx house at 72 Mt. Auburn Street, and the Kalumet house was employed in the meantime. The new building formally opened on April 1, 1916.
In 1925, negotiations for the amalgamation of the Phoenix and the S K were started, and in January 1925, undergraduate bodies of both clubs voted their approval. A new club, the Phoenix – S K, was formed, which occupied the S K clubhouse at 72 Mt. Auburn Street. With time, due to changing conditions within the university, it became advantageous for the Phoenix – S K to be classified as a final club, so on May 24, 1930, the Club became final.
In 2003, the club was the subject of unsubstantiated allegations of animal cruelty.[8]
The club has been a hotspot for celebrities and members of Boston's local sports teams to participate in Harvard's night life.[9] In April 2011, American musician and DJ Steve Aoki performed at the club.[10] In February 2015, the club came back under the spotlight when pictures of New England Patriots players Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and several other teammates purportedly partying at the Phoenix - S K Club house following their Super Bowl XLIX victory surfaced on social media.[11]
On December 6, 2022, French Pianist Sofiane Pamart performed at the club.[12]
Robert L. Bacon (1907): Banker, Lieutenant Colonel, and congressman from New York
Gaspar G. Bacon (1908): President of the Massachusetts Senate (1929–32) and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (1933–1935)
Samuel Eliot Morison (1908): Rear Admiral of the U.S. Navy, three-time Pulitzer Prize Winner, Author, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
George Gund (1909): President of Cleveland Trust Bank (1941–1962), the predecessor of KeyBank
Michael K. Frith (1963): Former Executive Vice President and Creative Director for Jim Henson Productions
Nicholas Papanicolaou (1970): Co-Chairman, CEO, and Controlling Shareholder of British car manufacturer Aston Martin; Grand Master (worldwide), The Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta
^The Social Network. 2010. Event occurs at 00:01:31. The Phoenix is the most diverse.
^"A History of Wesleyan College Fraternities" The Wesleyan Review, May, 1990
^Morse, William Gibbons (1941). Pardon my Harvard Accent. Morse Farrar & Rinehart. Page 294. Also reference in Shepardson, Francis W. (1930). The Story of Beta Theta Pi. George Banta Publishing Co. Page 123.
