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 club in Los Angeles, California. It's a place where people can play sports and meet new friends. The club started way back in 1880. Today, it's 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 began on September 8, 1880. In its first month, 60 people joined. The club rented two rooms in Stearns Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The club wanted to help members get stronger and also be a nice place for gentlemen to gather.
The club moved several times to bigger places. In 1881, it moved to the Downey Block. A few years later, it moved again to the Stowell Block. A fire in 1893 made them move to a temporary spot. Soon, over 400 members joined. This led to building their own four-story building. It had a huge gym on the third floor.
The club offered many activities. Members could do gymnastics and other athletic training. They even had a football team. This team played the first game against San Francisco in 1892. The club also had an outdoor park. It featured a running track, a bike path, a baseball diamond, and tennis courts. There were also rooms for relaxing, like a big reading room. Members could also play billiards and cards.
Moving to a New Building in 1912
In 1912, the LAAC moved into its own new building. This was at 431 West Seventh Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The building is twelve stories tall. It was designed in the beautiful Beaux-Arts style. This building is now a special Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. It was the first building 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 in Los Angeles and early Hollywood joined. The club even helped start other famous places. These include the California Yacht Club (1922) and Riviera Country Club (1926). These clubs are now separate from the LAAC.
The club faced challenges during World War II. Also, more people started moving to the suburbs.
Athletes from the LAAC have won many medals in the Summer Olympics. They won a lot of medals during the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Overall, LAAC athletes have won 97 Olympic medals. This includes 47 gold medals!
Famous Members of the LAAC
Many well-known people have been members of the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Here are some of them:
- Arthur Alber, Los Angeles City Council member
- L. Frank Baum, author
- Glenn Berry, Olympic gymnast
- Richard Bishop, Olympic gymnast
- Dallas Bixler, Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics
- Ed Carmichael, Olympic bronze medalist in gymnastics
- Charlie Chaplin, famous actor
- Lillian Copeland, Olympic discus champion
- Reginaldo Francisco del Valle, California State Senator
- George P. Cronk, Los Angeles City Council member
- Vesey Alfred Davoren, founder of the Topanga Yacht Club
- Edward L. Doheny, businessman
- Mayor Fred Eaton, former mayor
- Philip "Phil" Erenberg, Olympic silver medalist in gymnastics
- Caroline Estes Smith
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr., actor
- Robert Frederick Foster
- Louis F. Gottschalk
- A. E. Henning, Los Angeles City Council member
- Henry Huntington, businessman
- Duke Kahanamoku, Olympic swimmer and water polo player
- Georgia Thatcher Kemp
- Paul Krempel, Olympic gymnast
- Harold Lloyd, actor
- Parry O'Brien, Olympic shot put champion
- Colonel Harrison Otis, publisher
- Mary Pickford, actress
- George Roth, Olympic gold medalist in Indian clubs
- Moses Sherman, businessman
- William Desmond Taylor, movie director
- Rudolph Valentino, actor
- Johnny Weissmuller, Olympic swimmer and actor
- Senator Stephen White, senator
- Esther Williams, Olympic swimmer and actress
See also
- List of American gentlemen's clubs
- List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in Downtown Los Angeles
