Los Angeles Athletic Club facts for kids
LAAC Building, on 7th Street in Downtown Los Angeles
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| Genre | Athletic club Social club |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 8, 1880 |
| Headquarters | 431 West Seventh Street Los Angeles, CA 90014 |
The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is a special private club in Los Angeles, California, United States. It's a place for both sports and social gatherings. Started way back in 1880, the club is now most famous for giving out the John R. Wooden Award. This award goes to the best male and female college basketball players each year.
Contents
History of the LAAC
How the Club Started
The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) began on September 8, 1880. Just one month later, it already had 60 members! They rented their first space, two halls in Stearns Hall in downtown Los Angeles. In the 1800s, the club aimed to help members get fit and also offer them a place to socialize, like a gentlemen's club.
The club moved for the first time in 1881 to a bigger place in the Downey Block. A few years later, they moved again to an even larger home in the Stowell Block. In 1893, a fire forced them to move to a temporary spot next door. Soon, over 400 people joined the club. This led them to build their own permanent building. It was a four-story building with a huge gym on the third floor. It was located on Spring Street.
The club offered many activities. These included gymnastics, athletic training, and team sports. They even started a football team that played the first intercity game against San Francisco in 1892. In its first 20 years, the club also created an outdoor sports park. This park had a running track, a path for bikes, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and places for croquet. It also had rooms for members to relax and chat. There was a large reading room, and areas for billiards and cards.
Moving to a New Home in 1912
In 1912, the LAAC moved into its brand new building. This building is located at 431 West Seventh Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The twelve-story building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style. It was created by famous architects John Parkinson and George Bergstrom. Today, it is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, meaning it's an important historical site. This building was special because it was the first in Southern California to have a swimming pool on an upper floor!
The LAAC was very successful for its first 60 years. Many important people from Los Angeles society and early Hollywood joined the club. During its busiest time, the LAAC helped start other clubs. These included the California Yacht Club (1922) and Riviera Country Club (1926). These clubs are now separate.
The club faced challenges during World War II and when many people moved to the suburbs. Despite this, athletes from the LAAC have won many medals at the Summer Olympics. They won a lot of medals during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. In total, LAAC athletes have won 97 Olympic medals, including 47 gold medals!
Famous Members
Many well-known people have been members of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Here are some of them:
- Arthur Alber, a Los Angeles City Council member
- L. Frank Baum, who wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Glenn Berry, an Olympic gymnast
- Richard Bishop, an Olympic gymnast
- Dallas Bixler, a gymnast and Olympic gold medalist
- Ed Carmichael, a gymnast and Olympic bronze medalist
- Charlie Chaplin, a famous silent film actor
- Lillian Copeland, an Olympic discus champion who set world records
- Reginaldo Francisco del Valle, a California State Senator
- George P. Cronk, a Los Angeles City Council member
- Vesey Alfred Davoren, who founded the Topanga Yacht Club
- Edward L. Doheny, a businessman
- Mayor Fred Eaton, a former mayor
- Philip "Phil" Erenberg, a gymnast and Olympic silver medalist
- Caroline Estes Smith
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr., an actor
- Robert Frederick Foster
- Louis F. Gottschalk
- A. E. Henning, a Los Angeles City Council member
- Henry Huntington, a railroad builder and art collector
- Duke Kahanamoku, a famous swimmer and surfer, also a lifeguard at the club
- Georgia Thatcher Kemp
- Paul Krempel, an Olympian in gymnastics
- Harold Lloyd, a silent film comedian
- Parry O'Brien, an Olympic shot put champion
- Colonel Harrison Otis, a newspaper publisher
- Mary Pickford, a famous silent film actress
- George Roth, an Olympic gold medalist in Indian clubs
- Moses Sherman
- William Desmond Taylor, a movie director
- Rudolph Valentino, a famous silent film actor
- Johnny Weissmuller, an Olympic swimmer and actor who played Tarzan
- Senator Stephen White, a US Senator
- Esther Williams, an Olympic swimmer and actress
See also
- List of American gentlemen's clubs
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Downtown Los Angeles
