Detroit Yacht Club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Founded | 1868 |
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| Clubhouse | One Riverbank Road Belle Isle, Detroit, MI 48207 |
| Country |  United States |
| Website | http://www.dyc.com |
The Detroit Yacht Club (DYC) is a private marina and sailing club in Detroit, Michigan, located on Belle Isle in the Detroit River between the McArthur Bridge and the DTE generating plant. The DYC clubhouse is a restored 1920s Mediterranean-style villa that is the largest yacht club in the United States.
DYC is a member of the Detroit Regional Yacht-racing Association (DRYA).
[edit] History
The club was founded by Detroit sailing enthusiasts in the late 1870swith a small clubhouse and boatshed. The original location was at the foot of McDougall Street, just south of Jefferson Avenue. In the early 1880s, the members were divided over the club's growing social activities, and in 1882,one group broke away to form the Michigan Yacht Club. The remainder elected James Skiffington Commodore (the club's title equivalent to the "President" of other recreational and social organizations) in 1884.
The original Belle Isle clubhouse was built at a cost of $10,000 (with a further $2,000 for furnishings) in 1891, but burned down in 1904. A new facility was quickly built at the same site.
In 1923, the present-day clubhouse was dedicated; its construction had cost more than one million dollars, the work of architect George Mason, who also designed Detroit's Masonic Temple (the world's largest) and the opulent Gem Theatre. By the end of the following year membership had reached 3000. Prominent member and Commodore Gar Wood set world speed records in a hydroplanes, and with his Gold Cup victories brought the club to national and even worldwide prominence. Beginning in 1921, the DYC started sponsoring the hydroplane races. Membership declined dramatically during the Great Depression, and some services were suspended.
In 1946, all bonds had been paid, and the club was debt-free. The club's women formed the first women's sailing organization in the country and raced the club's catboats. During the next decade, dining facilities would be expanded, and theater-quality projection equipment installed in the ballroom, where Sunday evening screenings became a regular feature of club life. During the 1960s, an outdoor, Olympic-size swimming pool was added, and the West End docks were built, increasing the number of boat wells to over 350. The DYC was long a symbol of privilege and exclusivity. Up until the 1970s, Black applicants were routinely rejected, until psychiatrist Dr. Leonard Ellison filed a lawsuit, and became the first Black member.[1]
[edit] External links
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