ABOUT

The Athlon at the Cleveland Athletic Club Building has been designed to uphold the timeless history that the Cleveland Athletic Club (CAC) has left on the city. Items from the past have been reinvented in ways to keep the spirit of the building alive. To ensure The Athlon thrives in the future, we have paid close attention to the past.

Founded in 1908, the Cleveland Athletic Club was a historic organization headquartered in a historic building designed by J. Milton Dyer, who also designed the Cleveland City Hall. The CAC was a private club, catering to athletes, and included swimming, bowling, billiards, a card room, dining hall and 12 overnight guest rooms. The CAC was restored between 1997 and 2002, with $4 million in restorations and a revitalization of club activities, including social events, programs and membership until closing its doors in 2007.

KEY MILESTONES

• February 1, 1908: The CAC came to live originally in the old National City Bank Building.
• November 22, 1911: Grand opening of the CAC on Euclid Avenue when its first president, William P. Murray, declared, “…It will live now from generation to generation to the benefits of yourselves, your children and your grandchildren.”
• 1922: The CAC sponsored the National Amateur Pocket Billiard Tournament on the sixth floor.
• 1922: Johnny Weissmuller, who went on to star as Tarzan, set the world record in the 150-yard backstroke in the CAC indoor pool.
• 1923: CAC sponsored the first indoor track meet in Cleveland, an event that attracted nearly 2,000 high school and college athletes.
• 1925: James A. “Jimmy” Jimmie Lee, who became the CAC’s athletic director, coached the U.S. Boxing Team for three Olympic Games.
• 1966: The inaugural year for the annual famous St. Patrick’s Day party.
• 2007: Major renovation of the CAC to include a new aerobic studio and fitness complex, a Turkish bath, a family locker room and babysitting center.
• December 31, 2007: The last event before the doors of the CAC closed.
• 2017: Renovations began to remake history in the form of luxury apartments, commercial and retail space, keeping true to the original CAC mission of wellness with a pool, fitness center and open exercise areas.