The Nineteenth Century Charitable Association

Lots of great history!

We had our wedding (both ceremony and reception) at this beautiful venue this July, and we were overall very pleased with our experience. It’s a gorgeous space; the ballroom is lovely all on its own, so we didn’t have to do too much to decorate. The rental price was reasonable, and Danielle was very competent.
The biggest mark of how well the people at the venue did their job is that I was hardly aware of any of the setup happening before or during the wedding. The chairs for the ceremony were set and ready to go for our rehearsal the day before the event, and the reception was a dream as soon as I walked in after our photo shoot. That’s a feat when they had an hour to flip the ballroom from ceremony to reception while the guests were downstairs for a cocktail hour! (Twomaytoz Catering/​Cucina Paradiso and our wedding coordinator from Crafty Broads also had significant parts in that, of course.)
It’s also nice that it’s a non-​profit working with local charities. It’s a bonus to be supporting a good cause while also getting to have a party in this lovely space.

This is a wonderful venue in Oak Park, which actually has very few large-​scale places for meetings and events. Some parts of the clubhouse are a bit dated, but they do a great job preserving the charm.

A fine venue for a fine event.

I guess I have been so busy in my Marital Bliss that it slipped my mind to write this review.
My husband and I happened to find this place randomly one evening as we were leaving Lake Theater after a date. We were going to pick up our car at the parking lot next to NCC and we heard music so we walked over there and realized that you could rent this venue for weddings.
My mom lives in Oak Park and most of my husband’s family lives close by so we thought this would be a convenient central location for our guests.
The Club is Beautiful and had a historical yet elegant feel to it. We rented the whole place for our wedding reception. The top floor is where we had our dinner and dance reception and the first floor was used for cocktail hour before dinner.
We had the food catered through TwoMayToes which is part of Cucina Paradiso a local Italian Restaurant in Oak Park. The food was fabulous, we received so many compliments and service was impeccable. Anthony Gambino is the owner of Cucina and he is amazing and knows his stuff when it comes to Catering. A Godsend,
The coordinator from NCC is Ellen Winter. An amazing person to work with.
The parking for guests was convenient as there is a parking lot next to the club.
We even took some pictures nearby at the Carleton Hotel. I just love Oak Park. I recommend NCC to anyone who is looking for a Wedding Venue. The price is right and the memories are priceless.

We just had our wedding here this weekend, and it was beautiful. I loved the club from the minute I saw the pictures on their website, and I was sold as soon as I walked into the ballroom. We used the upstairs ballroom only, and it was perfect because the room is so beautiful that it didn’t need any decorations. The décor is clean and elegant. I loved the old fashioned charm of the building. Also, having an event in Chicago in July at a historic building, I was a little concerned about air conditioning, but the room was comfortably air conditioned even after we brought in 100 people! It is a truly beautiful place.

I had my wedding reception here on May 27, 2012.
This place was perfect on so many levels… where do I begin?
When I started searching for a venue, cost was obviously a huge factor. My husband and I were planning on paying for the wedding ourselves, and we aren’t high rollers. We live in the city, but the venues I found were way above our budget. Oak Park is just outside the city but not too far. There’s a Green line CTA stop within walking distance of the club. The price was very reasonable. Since it was a Sunday (of Memorial Day weekend), we got a little discount. We ended up paying $ 1000 to rent the 2^nd floor, but you can rent both floors too. If we could afford it, I would have. The sitting area on the first floor is like something from a 19^th century novel. I would have had to pay 3x as much to get a smaller loft space in the city.
So the price was right, but what about the ambience and feel? The second floor room is a large space, with lovely hardwood, a stage and muted, soft purple curtains and taupe walls. There are chandeliers and large windows. It’s really like something from a Jane Austen novel. Remember when Bingham moves to town and throws a party at his home? The 2^nd floor room could have been the ballroom where Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy first encountered each other. And being an Austen lover, the feel of the space was totally up my alley. But even if you are more of a modern bride, the colors are neutral enough that you can make it whatever you want.
The club works frequently with my caterer, Twomaytoz, so I highly recommend hiring them for the food. My review for them is listed under Cucina Paradiso.
With free garage parking on Sundays (and still very cheap on Saturdays), and it’s located right off downtown Oak Park, and Ellen is fabulous to work with– choosing this place should be a no brainer!
Another plus– the money you give to this venue goes to charity. It isn’t like typical venues where the bottom line is profit. This place uses their profits to fund scholarships. I love that!

We had our wedding reception at The Nineteenth Century Club on July 16, 2011 and we couldn’t be happier with our choice! When we got engaged we knew we didn’t want a typical wedding reception at a banquet hall type place. Ideally we wanted a «Garden Party» theme and originally thought about renting a tent somewhere, but realized we’d have to rent everything (china, flatware, etc) and worried about no air conditioning in the middle of July. We also didn’t get engaged until Labor Day weekend so I was a little worried about places still being available less than a year out.
So I started searching for unique venues in the city and suburbs and randomly came across a list of places and saw The Nineteenth Century Club listed. I went to their website to check it out and decided to email to see about their availability. This is when I «met» Ellen – their event coordinator – and she was wonderful. She emailed right back and told me I could come take a look. I decided to go that afternoon because she said she had out date open. Ellen was just as wonderful in person and took me on a tour. There is a nice lounge area on the first floor that we used for our cocktail hour and the ballroom is on the 2^nd floor. I immediately fell in love with the space – it has a high white ceiling that almost feels like a tent and beautiful hardwood floors that are great for a dance floor. As we were wrapping up I just had a feeling that I didn’t want someone else to come see it and book our date so I booked it on the spot! (without my fiancé being there!!) I looked at a million places online, but this was only the 2^nd place I visited and I just knew – and it helped that Ellen was wonderful AND the rental money goes towards scholarships for young women. (coming from a family of almost all teachers this went over well with my parents!) The fee was extremely reasonable and all the tables/​china/​flatware/​glassware/​linens are included in that small fee! They also have an exclusive caterer (Twomaytoz catering – which I will also review) so that took away another decision we’d have to worry about. The catering company is from a restaurant in Oak Park (Cucina Paradiso) that my sister had been to many times and she said the food was excellent so that was something we didn’t have to try to figure out.
So I booked it that night and brought my fiancé back later that week and he agreed it was the right place for us. We continued to work with Ellen and Anthony from Twomaytoz and we truly couldn’t have had a better experience. Ellen was so helpful in letting me come back anytime I wanted (to bring my parents, our wedding planner and then even our florist) and always answered my emails right away. They were also very accommodating as far as letting us drop things off a few days before and they had also started setting up on Thursday so when we went by we were able to get an idea of how it was going to look. Although nothing could have prepared us for how wonderfully everything turned out. We truly couldn’t have had a better experience with everyone at the Nineteenth Century Club. We HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for a venue that isn’t a typical hotel or banquet ballroom. You won’t be disappointed with the space or the service. I’m actually going to miss talking to Ellen! :)

I have attended some of the interesting public lectures that are offered at the club, and I have always had a good time. Plus, the tea (actually, High Tea) that follows the lectures is always fun — I feel like a «lady who lunches!» The lectures are free, but the tea is a $ 10.00 donation — well worth it for a nice afternoon and little sandwiches with the crust removed.
The only downside I can think of is that the lectures are held on weekdays, so I can only attend if I have the day off from work.

I had my wedding ceremony and reception at 19^th Century Club. I was looking for a place where I could have both my ceremony and reception, close to Chicago, not a banquet hall/​wedding factory and not crazy expensive. I looked at a lot of venues and only found one other venue that was comparable for the price. I chose 19^th CC because of how beautiful the building is and because the caterer would handle everything (linens, bar, recommend a bakery.)
I had about 100 guests so the 2^nd floor was more than enough room. There is another ballroom on the 1^st floor that is smaller. As far as I know, they will not schedule two events on one night even if you are only using one floor.
The venue went well with my vintage inspired wedding. It was nice to use a venue that has a purpose other than hosting events.
There is a park across the street which has some great picture taking spots. There is a parking lot, garage and street parking. Its in the downtown Oak Park area so its close to restaurants, hotels and stores.
2maytoz is the exclusive caterer for the venue. They were very responsive and the food was excellent.

I had my wedding here in December. It’s a very unique site (which I was looking for) and does well to fit in a budget. I rented the entire building for the night and had my ceremony on the first floor and reception upstairs in the auditorium. The hardwood floors have been recently redone and they have updated the lighting so it dims. I received so many compliments on the venue mainly people asking how I found it! After going to so many unforgettable banquet style weddings, I was happy to find the 19^th Century Club for my event. They also have 2 Steinway pianos that are available for use; 1 on the first floor and 1 on the 2^nd floor.
The caterer, Twomaytoz (Anthony) is so fabulous to work with. Not only is the food amazing (especially for the price) but he has great ideas and is very flexible to work with.
Another great thing is the parking garage literally next door. I had many guests tell me how nice it was to have that accessible to the venue. The 19^th CC has a close proximity to downtown Oak Park and the hotels that are in the neighborhood as well. Our guests stayed at the Carleton and we hired a mini-​cab service to shuttle guests to and from.

I went to a wedding at this club last weekend. I actually used to work at a woman’s club that also changed it’s name in the last few years to lure male members. As uptight old lady clubs go, this one is pretty cool. The facility itself is attractive, with its high ceilings and chandeliers and ballrooms. I felt a bit like I was in a Jane Austen novel (that’s a good thing for me). The wedding was a pretty stately affair. I didn’t feel like I could totally get my groove on during the dance portion of the evening, for fear of making those ladies in the oil painting portraits blush. But the ceremony was quite classy in this brick and mortar and hardwood floor environment. If you’re looking to throw a refined social event, this is a great place to do it. I guess I’m just not particularly refined.
The food was very good. I find that most catering food (especially at weddings) is just plain bad. This wedding meal consisted of heavy apps, most of which were truly tasty. I particularly enjoyed the bacon-​wrapped scallops, the spring rolls, the blue cheese quesadillas and the baked potato skin bites.

First of all, it’s now called the 19^th Century Club and this review is about Contra Dancing, which they sponsor the 2^nd and 4^th Thursdays of the month. This is one of those activities that you should try at least once in your lifetime. Contra Dancing resembles square dancing — there is a caller and live music. The music alone is worth the $ 8 cover. The group is instructed on the dance moves, and then, with the music, follows the caller’s instructions. It’s good for the mind and the body. Experienced dancers are very helpful to newcomers. The flyer says «No partner needed» but there are never enough males and some dances you’d much rather do w/​a partner of the opposite sex. OK, IT’S OAK PARK, WHATEVER!