Comparison · 15 material differences
Bohemian Club vs Harvard Club of Boston
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
What the records say
- Gender: Bohemian Club: Men only; Harvard Club of Boston: No published gender.
- Geographic restriction: Bohemian Club: No published geographic restriction; Harvard Club of Boston: Fees are set by the ZIP codes where an applicant lives and works: Resident 1 within 15 miles, Resident 2 within 16 to 50 miles, Nonresident 51 or more miles within the United States, and International outside the United States.
- Annual dues: Bohemian Club: Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.; Harvard Club of Boston: Figures come from the club's own dues schedule PDF headed "Harvard Club of Boston Annual Dues, Effective September 1, 2026", which lists an initiation fee and a monthly cost of membership for each category. Commonwealth members pay the same schedule as the equivalent Resident, Nonresident or International band..
Side by side
| Bohemian Club | Harvard Club of Boston | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Private club | Private club |
| Founded | 1872 (Founded in April 1872 by and for journalists who wanted a fraternal association among men who enjoyed the arts; the founding group first took a room on Sacramento Street in San Francisco.) | 1908 (The club's timeline records that 22 alumni men started the Harvard Club of Boston in 1908 with annual dues set at $5.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | Boston, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Clubhouse at 624 Taylor Street on Nob Hill, San Francisco, plus the club's Bohemian Grove property in Sonoma County, California | Back Bay clubhouse at 374 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston; the club's current site lists no other location |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed by the club. Wikipedia gives approximately 5,000 members across 40 countries; that has not been independently verified and carries no date. |
| Chapters | No chapters. Within the Bohemian Grove encampment members belong to camps, of which there were 118 as of 2007 according to Wikipedia. | Single clubhouse; no chapters. Members have reciprocal access to more than 170 private clubs worldwide. |
| Primary audience | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes nothing about who it admits; its bylaws require that ten percent of the membership be accomplished artists -- composers, musicians, singers, actors, lighting artists, painters and authors -- and membership is restricted to men. | The club states its mission is to be "the social, intellectual, and athletic hub for Harvard alumni and our affiliated community in the Greater Boston area", and its published eligibility extends to alumni of Harvard, MIT, Yale and the Fletcher School at Tufts, faculty and students of Harvard and MIT, medical residents and fellows at Harvard-affiliated hospitals, and the direct relatives of member |
| Typical member | Not publicly disclosed. Modern membership lists are private. Secondary accounts describe a club that began as a journalists' and artists' association and came to be dominated by business figures within its first decades, with a bylaw reserving a tenth of places for working artists. | Alumni, students, faculty, parents and affiliates of Harvard and MIT, plus Yale and Tufts Fletcher School alumni, together with a limited number of Commonwealth members admitted as friends and family of existing members. Fees are banded by age and by distance from the clubhouse. |
| Qualification | ||
| Gender | Men onlyMembership remains restricted to men, per Wikipedia's article; the club itself publishes nothingverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published gender |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Fees are set by the ZIP codes where an applicant lives and works: Resident 1 within 15 miles, Resident 2 within 16 to 50 miles, Nonresident 51 or more miles within the United States, and International outside the United StatesFees are also banded by ageverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Not documented | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | Sometimes |
| Application process | Not publicly disclosed. The club's website consists of a member login, a privacy policy and an employment link; there is no membership page, application form, contact address or telephone number for prospective members. | Applicants review the eligibility categories and the published dues schedule, then select their affiliation and complete an online application form. The club verifies the applicant's university affiliation directly with the institution and a member of the team follows up to finalise details. The club's Become a Member page asks applicants to allow two to three weeks for review, while its membership FAQ says a membership is activated within 10 to 15 business days; new members then receive membership numbers and an electronic welcome package. Commonwealth applicants complete a separate application and need a member sponsor. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. Membership lists are private and the club does not publish acceptance figures or a waiting list. | Not publicly disclosed as an acceptance rate. Eligibility is defined by university affiliation; the only published numerical limit is the 50 Commonwealth places reserved each year. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | Figures come from the club's own dues schedule PDF headed "Harvard Club of Boston Annual Dues, Effective September 1, 2026", which lists an initiation fee and a monthly cost of membership for each category. Commonwealth members pay the same schedule as the equivalent Resident, Nonresident or International band. |
| Monthly dues | Could not be independently verified. The club publishes nothing and no reliable published figure was located in this research. | $60–426 a monthPublished monthly cost of membership effective 1 September 2026. Resident 1: $135 (25 and under), $154 (26-30), $250 (31-35), $372 (36-40), $426 (41-74), $295 (75+), $385 (HCB plus HCNYC 41-74). Resident 2: $127 / $143 / $206 / $287 / $327 / $262 / $298. Nonresident: $113 / $127 / $159 / $190 / $218, $182 for HCB plus HCNYC. International: $60 / $79 / $94 / $114 / $133. Undergraduate students $85, graduate students $95, Harvard College faculty $125. The facilities renewal assessment is built into these figuresverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $305–4,327 one-timePublished schedule effective 1 September 2026, banded by residence and age. Resident 1 (within 15 miles): $964 for 25 and under, $1,183 for 26-30, $2,280 for 31-35, $3,684 for 36-40, $4,327 for 41-74, $2,763 for 75+, $3,843 for a combined HCB and Harvard Club of New York membership aged 41-74. Resident 2 (16-50 miles): $862 / $1,053 / $1,754 / $2,661 / $3,143 / $2,369 / $2,801 on the same bands. Nonresident (51+ miles, USA): $761 / $920 / $1,242 / $1,622 / $1,958, with $1,520 for HCB plus HCNYC aged 41 and over. International: $305 / $532 / $773 / $1,012 / $1,239. Students $660; Harvard College faculty $960verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Ongoing; dues may be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Year-round clubhouse use plus an annual two-week summer encampment at Bohemian Grove spanning three weekends, attended by roughly 2,500 people | More than 250 member events a year, virtual and in person, from wine dinners to faculty discussions and holiday events |
| Peer forums | Within the Grove encampment members belong to camps; 118 camps were counted as of 2007 and they function as the main social units of the gathering | Member-led Shared Interest Groups (SIGs), plus a Golf Society giving access to regional country clubs and a squash programme with leagues and clinics |
| Confidentiality | Membership lists are private and the club maintains no public web presence; the club motto "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" is understood as a rule against conducting business at its formal gatherings | The club describes itself as an electronic-device-friendly clubhouse and asks only that members not take phone calls in the restaurant; sound-proof phone booths are provided in the Member Commons. |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | No | No |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | No | Partial |
| Member directory | Not documented | Yes |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Leadership development | No | No |
| Retreats | Yes | No |
| Travel | Not documented | Yes |
| Family programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | Not documented | High |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Bohemian Club · Harvard Club of Boston