The story
Founded in 1880, the club was originally called the "Montefiore Social and Dramatic Club", named for Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, the British-Jewish philanthropist. It was established by 11 people, all quite young, with ages ranging from 15 to 23, as a social club for young Jewish people. It held fundraising balls to help Jewish refugees, and plays that were produced to fund welfare programs for immigrants. Later renamed the "Montefoire Club", and modelled on upper class gentlemen's clubs of London, it functioned as a private social and business association, catering to members of the Jewish community.
Among its members, were "well-to-do" members of the Jewish community, who were excluded from elite Anglophone clubs such as the St. James and the Mount Royal.
In the early 1990s, the club had more than 600 paying members. In the mid-1990s, $500,000 was spent on renovations to the building.
In 2005, after experiencing a decline in membership, new policies were introduced:
Annual fees were reduced
Women were admitted as full members
The dress code was relaxed
New activities were introduced including luncheon speakers and wine workshops
Read the full text
In its final years, the building was used frequently by Concordia University, usually for social events. In the summer of 2010, after experiencing years of financial difficulties, the club closed.
From Wikipedia’s article on Montefiore Club, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4