19th and 20th centuries
Like most clubs of the 19th and early 20th century, the Union League of Philadelphia was only open to white men. However, in 1972, the club admitted William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. as its first Black member. The following decade, in 1983, it admitted its first female member: Mary Roebling.[4]
The club's Center City Philadelphia building, a Second Empire-style structure with a brick and brownstone façade, was designed by John Fraser and completed in May 1865.[5] The opening was originally scheduled for March of that year, with President Lincoln in attendance, but was delayed due to wartime construction supply shortages. Christopher Stuart Patterson, formerly the Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, was the 13th President of the Union League in 1897 and 1898.[6][7] In 1905, Philadelphia architect and Union League member Horace Trumbauer won a design competition to build major additions to the building. The Beaux Arts-style additions, completed in 1910 and 1911, expanded the length of the building to an entire city block.[8] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The club's has a Heritage Center to store and display its extensive collection of Civil War-related documents and objects. It also maintains a large library for members.[9]
21st century
In 2010, the Union League elected Joan Carter, its first female president.[10]
In 2014, the club purchased the Torresdale-Frankford Country Club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and renamed it the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale.
In 2017, the club purchased the Sand Barrens Golf Club in Swainton, New Jersey, and renamed it the Union League National Golf Club.
The club has been giving out scholarships and providing public education on Philadelphia and the American Civil War since the 1940s. In 2019, it combined these efforts by founding the Legacy Foundation with the goal of "inspiring more educated, engaged, and responsible citizens."[2][11]
In 2021, the club purchased the Ace Club and Conference Center (formerly the Chubb Insurance Conference Center) in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, and renamed it the Union League Golf Club at Liberty Hill.
In 2022, the Union League celebrated its 160th anniversary through 160 Acts of Patriotism in and around Philadelphia benefitting several local community based organizations. The organization is considered to be politically conservative. It drew criticism from some prominent members for giving a gold medal, the same award it gave to Lincoln, to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022. Other recipients of the award include George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Rumsfeld. The club has awarded other figures in American politics and law, including Jeff Sessions, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito.[12][2]