Union League Club, ca. 1885.

The Union League was an off-shoot of the Union Club, one of New York's oldest and most prestigious social clubs. The Union League was founded by supporters of the Union side during the Civil War. Its original building was in Manhattan on 26th Street, but chapters soon opened in a number of eastern cities. The Brooklyn chapter was founded in 1887 and in 1891 it moved into a brand new Romanesque Revival building on Dean and Bedford Streets. The red brick and brownstone building was imposing with large arched entranceways and a tall tower at the corner (which has since been removed). The large equestrian statue of President Grant that sits across the street from the entrance was commissioned and erected by the League.