Here's what I posted last time this subject came up:

We've been members for a few years and feel that it's one of those "only in Philadelphia" kind of places. It's very old (150+ years), with remarkable architecture and a distinguished past in a neighborhood that's not what it was 150 years ago, to be sure. It's stayed alive and vibrant by being very open and welcoming of all kinds of people. To get in, you have to know a current member or two, and have them submit your name, but that's about it. I've never heard of anyone being rejected. There is a white-clothes-only rule on the tennis and squash courts, but that's where the formality ends.

Pricewise, it's sort of in the middle. It's more expensive than a Flourtown Swim Club or Beachcomber, for example, but far less expensive than a typical country club. I only know about year-round full family memberships, though. Maybe pool-only is more reasonable?

In addition to the great pool and the (relatively) diverse membership, the distinguishing thing about GCC is that it is a very, very active racquet club. While tennis is dying in most places, it's popularity replaced by golf, at Germantown Cricket tennis is numero uno.

Another big activity is squash. I've taken up the game at GCC and have found both the pros and the members to exceedingly down to earth and friendly. I never thought that this late in life I would find myself taking up a new sport, but I've really fallen in love with it. How funny that such an odd and exclusive game has been the most welcoming athletic endeavor I've ever encountered.

Two more things: the clubhouse is from 1891 and was designed by McKim, Mead, and White, the super-high-end firm out of NYC which designed Penn Station, among many other buildings. Charles McKim was from the neighborhood, so he had the inside track on getting the commission.

Tilden lived around the corner on McKean Ave; his mansion is still there, owned by a club member, but it desperately needs help. He has only recently been prominently re-featured at the club as his stigma seems to have faded.

There is a friendly, nose-tweaking rivalry between the squash players and the tennis players, and I would say that the cameraderie(sp?) of the squash players is especially strong.

Yes, but what of cricket at GCC. Is it much of a presence there anymore?

I've always been intrigued by Philadelphia being the only bastion of cricket in the United States, even though that's diminished a lot anymore.

There is a team, and Bart Withstanley would love more players; most (like Bart) are from former British colonies, but Americans will do. I think the membership rules are relaxed for cricket players. As I said earlier, since the cricket pitch is also the lawn tennis area, the cricket season is exceptionally short, as the tennis players have the most pull of all the club's constituencies. I tried watching a couple of games, but it seems to be all about passing the time in a structured way.

I also want to emphasize that the neighborhood is really improving. Before we joined a person apocraphically wandered onto campus with an AK, and there has been a 24 hour security person for the past 8 years at least; I have heard of no problems. The apartments adjacent were run (or not run) by a sleazebag investor from NYC; his tenants used to catcall the members when they were playing; he lost that place to sheriff's sale, and it has since been renovated and the clientele is now pretty good. (The club should have bought it and bulldozed it, but that is a different story). Lastly, when we first joined, you could sit on the porch drinking a mint julep, overlooking the grass courts, and see houses across Hansberry Street, blown out with no windows. I thought, only in Philadelphia could the juxtaposition have been so jarring. Now all of those houses have been rehabbed and they look beautiful from the porch. The renovations are spreading to the streets behind Hansberry now - specifically, McKean Ave and Bringhurst Streeet. The neighborhood in front of the club has always been nice, even in the bad old days, especially McKean Ave, Schuyler Street, Clapier Street, and Seymour Street.

We live two blocks from the GCC but work out (mainly in the winter months) at the Germantown Y. Does the GCC have exercise rooms? Are they updated? How are those facilities in general?

The club has a gym / exercise room. Some consider it to be nice. Like alot of other things there, it has gotten alot better over the past few years. The locker rooms / showers are pretty nice also, and are, like most other things at the club, old-school.

hmmm now that's intriguing. I didn't even know there were two of them! The one I saw, I seem to recall, was off of a main road (Germantown Blvd?) so it's probably GCC. It was near the Hare Krishna temple on Allens Lane (close to the train station).

thanks for the details on the cricket team. I wonder if many Indians/Indian-Americans come out there to play. I've not played the game since I left India, which was a looong time ago!

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Is it ghey that I love this song so much?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl_Wc6Nm8lc

I guess you could say I'm not as jaded about "stuff" such as enduring love yet...

Germantown Ave runs through both Chestnut Hill and Germantown, as at one point the whole place was called Germantown or the German Township, which is almost the same thing. The Hare Krishna Temple is in Mt. Airy, which is between G-town and CH, but closer to CH. I still think you saw Philly Cricket; like most things in CH, it is very impressive, very genteel-seeming. GCC doesn't look nearly as impressive from the street, as it is surrounded by a wall and a fence which allow fairly poor views into the campus, which is mostly at a higher grade than the surrounding streets, further impeding views. When you finally move to Philly you can join Germantown's cricket team. I think that saying that there are a few South Asians on Germantown's cricket team would be quite an understatement.

The club is walkable from the Queen Lane train station, and has many Center City members, more or less all of whom drive, as it is at US 1 and Wissahickon Ave. It is also about a mile from Wayne Junction. I would wager that I am the only club member to have used the Wayne Junction train station in recent memory, however. I say this assuming that you plan to live in Center City, which I would live if I were a single transplant.

There is a cricket tournement today at the club. I tried posting this at 8:30 this morning but the PB server wasn't responding. In my experience, however, these things are all day affairs.