The GW University Club will hold a grand opening for club members in coming weeks to celebrate its new location in two historic townhouses next to Thurston Hall.

The grand opening will take place Sept. 16 and 17 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the new club property located at 1918 F St.

The new club is managed by Club Corporation and it replaces the previous University Club, which was run by Aramark and was located on the third floor of the Marvin Center. Created to serve the alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of GW, the club is a membership-only private facility that functions as an academic, business, and social center.

The new club offers amenities on four floors, including a bar, informal and formal dining areas, meeting rooms, seminar halls, a garden courtyard and a small library.

Kia Sechrist, membership director for the club, said the Club gives its 1,100 members a “great social and business networking opportunity.”

The Riverhorse, a tavern-style room designed for casual dining, is located at street level. “Riverhorse” is a nickname for the hippopotamus, making the bar unique to GW. The room also serves Riverhorse ale. Members dining on the street level can choose to sit in the bar or on the new patio.

The first floor houses the main informal and formal dining rooms, which adjoin a garden courtyard behind the building. The second floor contains several private rooms, which can serve varied business or social functions. On the third floor, there are the administrative offices as well as the library, which will soon offer a computer facility and an honor bar.

All floors are decorated with historic furniture of former President Ulysses S. Grant from the University Archives, gifts from alumni such as GW Law School graduate Jacob Burns, and several portraits of George Washington from GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg’s personal collection.

Trachtenberg is a frequent patron of the club.

“It’s a very exciting new facility that I hope will be met with pleasure as it serves the GW community,” he said.

Trachtenberg had only a few words to say about the food.

“It’s okay.it’ll shakedown to accommodate the tastes of the members,” he said.

Membership in the club is open to all GW community members who are at least 21 years old. Members consist mainly of faculty, staff, alumni and a handful of students.