Yale Club of New York City, Tap Room

The Yale Club of New York City opened at its current location in 1915. At the time, the 22 story neoclassical building became the largest clubhouse in the world. Designed by James Gamble Rogers, the club has over 11,000 members consisting of generations of faculty and alumni. The historic Tap Room, part of Midtown Manhattan’s Yale Club, was originally built as a grand billiard hall and has long served as the main dining room. For the 2013 renovation, EverGreene served as both finishes consultant and specialty contractor. Working with Newman Architects and the Club leadership to bring a new warmth and vivacity to the Tap Room, EverGreene restored all of the interior finishes including ornamental and flat plaster, woodwork, decorative painting, faux stone, and faux bois. Artisans patched and replicated the Tyrolean textured plaster finish on the walls to imitate hand-cut medieval limestone and implemented a 3-color decorative paint scheme to resemble natural stone color variation. EverGreene cleaned and refinished the massive wood ceiling beams in a warmer, lighter oak faux bois to brighten the space.

In the stairway alcove, connecting the Tap Room to a lounge, the historic beams had become discolored beneath a drop ceiling. Decorative artists patched plaster holes and restored the original saw-tooth stencil design along the ceiling beams after reinstating its faux bois finish that echoes the warmth of the oak beams in the dining room. To infuse the space with collegiate spirit, EverGreene gilded 10 “Y’s” on wood corbels with 22 karat gold leaf and cast and decorated plaster busts of Handsome Dan, Yale’s living Bulldog mascot. The hand-finished treatments elevate and refine the Tap Room environment, refreshing the club-culture ambiance and its evocation of the neo-Gothic style associate with Yale.