The Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco hosts the oldest-continuously operating chess club in the United States. The first meeting of the Mechanics' Institute was held on December 11, 1854, and it was incorporated on April 24, 1855. At the time, San Francisco was a frontier city that had grown from the California Gold Rush. Today the Mechanics' Institute hosts national and international chess tournaments, offers virtual and onsite classes, and provides scholastic chess classes in partnership with local schools.