I Joined LA’s Most Iconic Fitness Club for a Week

Strolling into the grandiose Beaux-Arts building on the corner of 7th and Olive in Downtown LA is more like entering an old world members-only club than a gym in California. And that juxtaposition is exactly what’s so appealing about the Los Angeles Athletic Club — it manages to be both at once. Olympians like Johnny Weissmuller (aka Tarzan) have trained there. Surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku graced its halls, along with another 97 Olympians, 47 of which were gold medalists.

Even the founder of Paramount Pictures, Frank A. Garbutt, was a member of LAAC. And as far as a coveted “third space” where work, play and wellness are all top of mind, there’s really no better option in the city. Because this facility quite literally has everything. First of all, the towering 12-story structure is more than a century old, lending the historic stone building a sense of gravitas. Inside, it boasts not just a fitness center that rivals the offerings of an Equinox, but an on-site spa, nail salon, barber shop, multiple floors of Soho House-style co-working spaces, a bevy of luxurious hotel rooms and several private restaurants and bars. 

LA isn’t lacking in private clubs and lavish fitness centers, but because this one was the very first members club in the city, there’s a built-in heritage here that’s lacking in more contemporary offerings. Framed vintage photos and artifacts from the club’s lengthy tenure line the hidden hallways and tucked-away staircases that connect the co-working floors, and while most private clubs in California attempt to align themselves with this kind of legacy, this place embodies it. 

“The building was built to be the Los Angeles Athletic Club in 1912 and continues as this even today,” says LAAC Managing Director Troy Christian. “The club was the center of the cultural development of Los Angeles and had celebrities and top business leaders as founders back in the early days. Even Charlie Chaplin was a member and lived at the Club for many years.”

Though residential offerings like the one Chaplin utilized have been discontinued, the top three floors of the club have been converted into 72 hotel rooms and suites, all of which are open to the public. During their stay, hotel guests notably gain access to the same privileges as LAAC members. 

A recent firsthand look at those privileges was enough to make my head spin and begin to seriously consider whether or not I could afford investing in a membership of my own. On the sixth floor, an Olympic-sized saltwater lap pool treated with ultraviolet light is an immediate showstopper. It’s easily the largest, nicest lap pool in Downtown Los Angeles (and possibly the entire city), and though it’s recently been completely restored, the original tiling remains, reflecting in streams of sunlight from a row of huge windows. 

“This location is the first building in Southern California to have a swimming pool on an upper floor,” Christian says. “It’s historically been the training grounds for oodles of Olympic athletes over the years, and it features a state-of-the art filtration system that uses no chlorine and is sanitized with salt and UV light.” As if I needed more incentive, the organization was first in another category, as trailblazers for equal rights: they began admitting women as early as 1914. “We’re very proud to be the first nondiscriminatory club in Los Angeles,” Christian adds. “Years before it was required by law.” 

Though both members-only clubs and gyms have historically been dominated by men, LAAC is eager to showcase just how appealing their facilities can be for women and a younger clientele who value health and wellness and sometimes need office space because of remote and freelance work.  “We’re really building out the fitness offerings to attract more female members and all who enjoy group fitness,” Christian says. “Our main demographic is millennials, but we have many that have been members for over 30 years. The membership is a very broad and inclusive group of business, sports and civic minded people.” 

As historic as the club might be, a series of renovations and restorations of the interiors — plus a complete overhaul of the facilities during the pandemic — ushered the LAAC into the 21st century. More than 30,000 square feet of fitness space, an indoor track, the John Wooden namesake basketball court, squash, handball and racquetball courts, and studio space for up to 20 classes per week (including yoga and kickboxing) ground the athletic offerings firmly in California’s opulent gym culture. Others who will be happy at this club are those who value a steam room, sauna and silent meditation lounge as locker room amenities. 

A full-service spa — complete with a Himalayan salt therapy room — meeting spaces and conference rooms round out a total of more than 88,000 square feet of space for members. Throughout the social house and hotel, much of the decor has been restored or renovated to honor the club’s early 1900s legacy, which means an abundance of rich mahogany wood and brass, dark paint and wallpaper, thick, patterned carpets, and plush furniture floors that evoke that European-style elegance. 

This aesthetic is on full display in the speakeasy-style Invention Room, where live jazz is a staple most weeknights. Elsewhere, the Players Club is more of a sunny California cafe with dishes from in-house chef Marco Cerruti that offer inventive twists on the classics — like a traditional Cobb salad with spicy grilled shrimp. Despite its storied pedigree, the membership itself is relatively affordable — a monthly rate in the mid $200s, after a standard initiation fee — and there’s never been a better time to get onboard. 

Learn more about joining LAAC here.