Brooklyn's right to the title of the City of Homes, rather than to that of the City of Churches, is excellently supported by a study of its social life; and in no phase is this peculiarity more apparent than in the club life of the city, which is distinctly in harmony with the general social life of the city. Several of the city clubs have "ladies' nights," or special receptions to which ladies are invited, and to some of the clubs ladies are admitted at certain hours of the day. "The Union League, with its Romanesque front of cinnamon brick and brownstone on a semi-square, is near the south end of Bedford Avenue. Its location is fine, and during the political campaigns it is an important centre. Medallions of Grant and Lincoln adorn the front, an eagle with outstretched wings holds up a 'bay,' and a carved bear stands on the roof, a symbol of the 'grip' that clubdom has on the modern man. The great hall in this house is one of the finest in the country. Across the city, a square below the Park plaza, stands the Montauk, a fine structure, ornate, in light tones of brick, and with a Greek frieze above the third story, which is unique in architectural decoration and is a replica of old bas-reliefs. Near by is the mammoth building of the Riding and Driving Club, the largest and best arranged structure of the kind in this country. The Hamilton, one of the older clubs, has a tall building on the corner of Clinton and Remsen streets, showing an expanse of red brick and brownstone. It has no distinctive architectural style. Architecturally, a most elaborate club-house is the Germania on Schermerhorn Street. Its style is a rich but modified Florentine. The material is pale brown brick. A feature of it is the great arched doorway. The Bush wick Democratic club-house on Bushwick Avenue is, architecturally, on the same lines, a reduced version in stone and terra cotta. The club has but recently taken possession of this new house. Out in Flatbush, on the avenue, is the Midwood, an old colonial manse, unaltered, with wide-spreading grounds, its façade marked by great white columns, such as are almost unknown elsewhere in the county of Kings to-day. The Hanover, on Bedford Avenue, is a fine modern double house, with extensions and remodelings. The Brooklyn and the Oxford clubs have recently enlarged their rather unpretentious buildings without special reference to architectural beauty. The Excelsior is a plain city house. The Lincoln has the appearance of several buildings joined together, but is ornate and striking. Out of town the Crescent and the Field and Marine clubs have charming country homes, turreted and porticoed, and surrounded with trees and lawns."[50]