Comparison · 5 material differences
Bohemian Club vs Jonathan Club
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; Jonathan Club: Open to men and women since a 1987 vote to admit women as full members.
- Annual dues — Bohemian Club: Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.; Jonathan Club: The club publishes no fee information. The only figure in circulation is a reported initiation fee of about $50,000 from a 2024 secondary source..
Side by side
| Bohemian Club | Jonathan Club | |
|---|---|---|
| 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.) | 1895 (Two dates appear at the downtown clubhouse entrance: 1894, when the club was formed as a political club, and 1895, when it was chartered in California as a non-political social club. The club bases its anniversaries on 8 June 1895.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | Los Angeles, 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 | Two clubhouses: the Town Club at 545 South Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles, open since 1924, and the Beach Club on the sand in Santa Monica, operating since 1927 |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed. Wikipedia reports more than 650 female members but gives no total. |
| Chapters | No chapters. Within the Bohemian Grove encampment members belong to camps, of which there were 118 as of 2007 according to Wikipedia. | 2 |
| 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. | Not publicly disclosed. The club does not publish eligibility criteria; secondary sources describe membership as by invitation only. |
| 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. | Not publicly disclosed. Wikipedia reports more than 650 female members; no total membership, occupational or age profile is published. |
| Qualification | ||
| Gender | Men onlyMembership remains restricted to men, per Wikipedia's article; the club itself publishes nothingverified September 2026 · source ↗ | Open to men and women since a 1987 vote to admit women as full membersWomen guests had been limited to certain floors, dining rooms and entrances as recently as 1975; Wikipedia reports more than 650 female membersverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Not documented | Yes |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | Not documented |
| 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. | Not publicly disclosed. Secondary sources describe membership as by invitation only; no application form, sponsorship rule or committee process could be verified, and the club's own site could not be retrieved. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. Membership lists are private and the club does not publish acceptance figures or a waiting list. | Not publicly disclosed |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | The club publishes no fee information. The only figure in circulation is a reported initiation fee of about $50,000 from a 2024 secondary source. |
| Monthly dues | Could not be independently verified. The club publishes nothing and no reliable published figure was located in this research. | Not publicly disclosed. Secondary reporting states that monthly dues are payable in addition to the initiation fee to remain in good standing, but gives no amount.verified 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 ↗ | Not publicly disclosed by the club. Reported at approximately $50,000 as of 2024 in a Thrillist survey of Los Angeles members-only clubs, cited by Wikipedia. The club neither publishes nor confirms the figure, and the underlying source is a lifestyle publication rather than a business title, so the number should be treated as indicative only.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Not documented |
| 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 | Not documented |
| 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 | Not documented |
| 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 | Not publicly disclosed |
| 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 | No |
| Member directory | Not documented | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Not documented |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Leadership development | No | No |
| Retreats | Yes | No |
| Travel | Not documented | Not documented |
| Family programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | Not documented |
| Networking emphasis | Not documented | Not documented |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Bohemian Club · Jonathan Club