Patterned on the great London clubs, the Pendennis Club sits at 218 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, formerly Walnut Street, in Louisville, Kentucky. It began as a gentlemen's "city" club modeled on the great London clubs, with White's Club (founded in 1693) named as its progenitor. The club traces its formal start to a preliminary meeting in Thomas Wilson Todd's office in Louisville City Hall on June 28, 1881 — Todd (1852–1892) joined Levi Bloom (1854–1944), John Smith Noyes (1842–1922), William Whits Hite (1854–1908) and sixteen others in setting the plan in motion.
Two organizational meetings followed on July 9 and August 10, 1881 in the club's first home: rented rooms over A. J. Ross's Grocery Store. Across decades the Pendennis Club has long been regarded as the preeminent social club in Kentucky and one of the premier clubs in the United States. Today it is governed under 501(c)(7) Social and Recreation Clubs; in 2024 it reported revenue of $2,240,853 and total assets of $1,550,616.
The Pendennis Historical Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity; in 2010 it reported $15,605 in revenue and $40,357 in assets. Notice the boulevard now, once known simply as Walnut Street.