Alan Linn, ex-manager of English club Blacks, has partnered up with Steve Ruggi to open Norwood this summer. The two operate a Citizens Arts Club in London, and hope to draw a similar crowd to their new private club here in New York.
The members-only establishment will be in a rowhouse at 241 West 14th Street (between Seventh and Eighth Avenues), just about two blocks from Soho House. The property was on the market in 2005 (pictured at the time, via Curbed), and in it's new incarnation will include sitting rooms, a meeting space and a restaurant with a backyard dining area. The Observer reported that, according to Edward Kirkland (the chair of Board 4’s landmarks task force), “Essentially, they [Linn and Ruggi] see it as something of the Gramercy National Arts Club, but more up-to-date and with it...smaller, more intimate, more invited-membership of people interested in the arts.” Linn and Ruggi have described it as “an upscale private art and literature club for younger people.”
If getting in to Soho House is dependent upon fame, wealth and who you know...consider Norwood its art world counterpart. Much like playing an obscure instrument will get you in to Dartmouth, it seems membership at this members-only club will be based on "talent," and likely an artier quirkiness that most of the Eurotrash clientele at Soho house do not possess. NY Mag reports that "according to its promo material, Norwood is looking for tweedier and artsier types (not so Eurotrashy as Soho House) to enjoy their fireplaces, cell-phone ban, lobster Newburg, and baked Alaska." They also state the name comes from “a distinctly unsalubrious, unsexy suburb of London," however it's primarily named for the family that built the house between 1845 and 1847.
When will New York get a version of Seattle's McLeod Residence?
