By Jenny Price ’96
Eight gargoyles peer out from the ivy that veils the portico of the brick Tudor Revival-style building overlooking Library Mall.
Each symbolizes a field of learning, but they could just as easily represent the misconceptions about the place where the stone carvings make their home.
During its lifetime, the
University Club has housed both rowdy graduate students and World War II-era sailors in training; served as UW-Madison’s version of the Algonquin Round Table, where university leaders came together to share ideas and unwind; and hosted many a wedding celebration, including one during which a nude teenager rampaged through a reception and punched the groom.
Despite its colorful history, though, for many the century-old club remains a big unknown. Who belongs? Can just anyone go inside? What on earth goes on in there?