The name Lyceum originated many centuries ago in Athens and is known as representing a centre for lectures and discussions. The first Lyceum Club, founded in London by Miss Constance Smedley in 1904, aimed to provide a welcoming and intellectually stimulating environment for educated and energetic women.

The Lyceum Club Adelaide was founded in 1922, as an affiliate of the International Lyceum Club, by fifty-five women prominent in the arts and professions. Many were the earliest female members of the legal profession in South Australia. The first Club rooms were located above business premises on North Terrace. Dr Helen Mayo was the first President.

The Adelaide Lyceum Club continued to flourish, even during the lean war years of the mid-twentieth century. In 1973, the Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane and Karrakatta (Perth) Clubs formed the Australian Association of Lyceum Clubs (AALC), and the Sydney Lyceum Club joined the AALC in 1992.