Of the three buildings which comprise The Mainstay Inn, the most interesting history belongs to the Inn. Designed by famous Philadelphia architect, Stephen Decatur Button, and built in 1872 as a private gambling club, the building was recognized as important by a writer for the Cape May Ocean Wave as early as June, 1872. "The New Club House - In the design on this model building which now adds to the attractiveness of Columbia Avenue, Mr. S.D. Button, the architect, has won himself additional honors...It is symmetrical in its proportions, airy and cheerful in its appointments, and finished in that unpretentious elegance ...