I had occasion to spend my Wednesday within the walls of The Philadelphia Club.

The City Paper describes the club thusly:

One of the WASPiest, most exclusive private clubs in the country. Formed in 1833, the club once met in the Adelphi Building on Fifth Street, and purchased the 13th and Walnut building in 1850.

Now, I wasn’t actually in contact with any of this very exclusive membership. Still, the day held tastes of how the other half lives. Interweaving candelabras of silver. Antique prints on the walls. A giant mahogany sideboard (I think it was mahogany) in the dining room where I had grilled swordfish for lunch. Glimpses through doorways of rooms with maroon upholsetry, tiled fireplaces. Every last detail, down to the issues of Town & Country in the Ladies’ anteroom, spoke of a social circle to which I emphatically do not belong.

More on the club in a sort of historical context here and here.