This week In National Press Club history

October 22, 1984: The Fourth Estate Restaurant opens on the 13th floor. Originally for members only, it is now open to the public.

October 25, 1996: Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev speaks to a capacity crowd. For decades, the National Press Club provided a forum for officials from the Soviet Union, including Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. As the Soviet Union collapsed, opponents of that regime also appeared, including Solidarity leader Lech Walesa of Poland, and President Vaclav Havel of Czechoslovakia. In 199l, the first popularly elected president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin surprised the audience by speaking for only five minutes, and taking questions for the remainder of the time.

This Week In National Press Club History is brought to you by the History and Heritage Committee, which is dedicated to preserving and revitalizing the Club’s history through displays, events, panel discussions, and its ambitious oral history project.

For more information about the committee’s activities or to join the committee, contact Gilbert Klein at [email protected].

Compiled by Elizabeth Smith Brownstein, from the Club’s archives and Reliable Sources: 100 Years At The National Press Club.