Cincinnati Athletic Club

Our Story

In the summer of 1853, a group of men from Barrett’s Gymnasium formed the Young Men’s Gymnastic Association. Later, the Association’s name was changed to the Cincinnati Gymnasium and Athletic Club. In the 1960’s, the Gym was incorporated with its present name, The Cincinnati Athletic Club, Inc., which is also known by its acronym, CAC.

The original site of the Club was in the Apollo Building located at Fifth and Walnut Streets. Just prior to the Civil War the Club relocated into the St. Lawrence Building at 102 - 106 West Fourth Street. Thereafter, the Club expanded and moved to the top floor of the Grand Opera House until it burned down in 1898. Our vigorous organization survived and constructed its present building in 1903.

The Club’s new building and facilities were an instant success. Newspaper accounts of that time referred to the Cincinnati Gymnasium and Athletic Club and the New York Athletic Club as being, “without peer”. The Club’s facilities included the area’s first indoor competition pool and a rooftop garden. The Club also owned and operated athletic fields and a boathouse on Eastern Avenue which today is the CRC Schmitt Field complex. The Cincinnati Enquirer gave front page coverage to the CGAC’s first amateur boxing event on October 23, 1903.

In the early years of this century, our Club was the center of area athletic activities. It fielded teams in almost all athletic pursuits. The CAC’s display cases (in the lounge) harbor trophies of varied victories and contests. In a scrapbook of 1904, there are written and pictorial references to the Club’s activities in boating, cycling, boxing, swimming, shot-put, weight lifting, wrestling, track and field, basketball, and football. Purdue, Ohio State, and the University of Louisville were among the Club’s athletic opponents. In 1919, bowling and soccer were added to the list. National championships for handball were held in this building in 1925. The next year, our Club sponsored the first aerial dart tournament.

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